The Phoenix Ascending
by Ithileon
Summary: While SG-1 investigates Smallville, Eve befriends an amnesiac Kara. Krypton and Celestis collide in a war of ideals, Lana must come to terms with being related to an alien and Chloe discovers Stargate Command. Turns out Earth isn't as alone as they thought . . .
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings and welcome to The Phoenix Ascending, part 3 of the Phoenix Trilogy. As this picks up immediately where part 2 left off, reading Death of the Phoenix and The Phoenix Reborn is necessary to understand where this came from.**

Eve's refusal to set foot on another ship bar hers clashed with Landry's refusal to authorize a road trip. They compromised on air travel. SG-1 would be flown to McConnell Air Force Base and drive a few hours from there.

The night before the team departed for Smallville, Daniel sat on the couch and watched his daughter. A fair-skinned, blue-eyed, near-double of Adria at the same age, Eve's appearance a year ago had been the cause of much concern. Conceived during Daniel's days as a Prior, Eve was born three quarters Ori and possessed the powers to match. She was the last of the Ori, a beacon of hope for the followers of Origin and their war torn galaxy.

Feeling she would be safer on Earth, Daniel brought her back with him.

Her hybrid status guaranteed immunity to most diseases, but if she ever did succumb to a Tau'ri illness, Dr. Lam wasn't sure what treatments, if any, to administer. It was hard enough giving her a regular medical exam.

The powers came at unpredictable times. Eve arrived on Earth with active telepathy. Telekinesis kicked in at the physical age of four, followed by a small growth spurt. Pyrokinesis developed at physical eight, and then she awoke the next morning on the cusp of puberty. _Something_ happened on Atlantis that aged her to sixteen, but there were no signs of a new power emerging; just a Wraith that tried to feed on her and walked away from the encounter with badly burned hands. That Eve had no memory of what happened honestly frightened Daniel.

Fast forward to the present day, and the mission beginning tomorrow. The overwhelming majority of Stargate personnel were humans and Smallville was in their backyard. There was no need for large weapons, no need for an exclusively offworld language. _Any_ team was qualified to be sent to the small Midwestern town that had become a nexus of otherworldly activities. So why SG-1? The answer was simple and incredibly obvious: because Eve would have to come with them.

In summary, SG-1 was stuck with Adria's daughter, in an airplane, a vehicle and a motel room, for two weeks. Vala's sarcastic "Lovely!" spoke for them all.

Eve proved adept at thinking ahead, lining up pet sitters and books to read and otherwise staying out of the way.

* * *

><p>A faint stirring in the back of her mind caught her attention. Eve glanced down at the sapphire pendant around her neck. The pendant's most recent owner was a Tau'ri ancestress, a Scot by the name of Aoife. She was a skilled witch, defying death and her own father by partially ascending and hiding within the jewel. It had taken several broken power crystals to revive her mind but she remained in a dormant state, aware of the world around her but unresponsive to it. In some of her more lucid moments she was able to convey she needed more energy to awaken entirely, but a steady amount would be preferable to a sudden influx. Eve smiled, brushing against Aoife's mind.<p>

The witch returned her touch in kind, immediately going dormant once more.

* * *

><p>Vala had waited until morning to pack, delaying them by an hour. The plane took off at ten and Eve immersed herself in Middle Earth.<p>

Aoife's mind brushed against hers, an inquiry presenting itself in Eve's mind. Having no idea how fifteenth century Scots measured distance, she explained they would reach their destination sometime around sunset. This was not what the witch wanted to hear, but she lacked the energy to get angry.

Of the trip itself there was little to report; they landed an hour or so later, grabbed a bite to eat, and arrived in Metropolis around six. Eve ate nothing and went to bed early.

"Maybe I should call Carolyn."

"She's probably carsick Daniel," Sam replied, "She'll be fine in the morning."

* * *

><p>A startled "YIPE!" from across the hall woke the male half of SG-1, and Daniel led the charge to see what had happened.<p>

Sam had tried to awaken Eve, whose response was to throw her onto Vala. Vala's curse had turned into a wheeze at the sudden weight and one of Sam's hands smacked her in the temple. The two fell off the bed in a tangle of covers, which would have been funny if Eve hadn't chosen that moment to poke her head out from beneath the blanket.

The feeling of something being wrong intensified; this was not the face of his sixteen-year-old girl.

"Good morning to you too hideous." She growled, clearing her throat and raising a delicate eyebrow, "Now what the hell are you doing in here?"

"Samantha did it!" Vala piped up right away.

Blue eyes fixed on the voice's origin and narrowed. A hand rose beneath the blanket, thumb and forefinger pinched together. Sam was lifted from the floor by the back of her shirt and dropped on the bed.

Eve curled her index finger and Vala landed next to Sam. Both looked surprised at the face that greeted them. Eve looked twenty, maybe twenty-one, and a far cry from Adria at the same age. She didn't look like Daniel either, and the archeologist became confused when he realized who she _did_ look like. She was a dead ringer for Lady Máire McCorrigan, whose portrait hung in St. Mary's Church in Haddington, East Lothian. The only difference was the eye color. Máire's were green. They had the same oval face, almond eyes, straight edged nose, and mostly straight dark hair.

How did Eve suddenly resemble a distant ancestor more than her own parents?

Eve's expression currently featured a wide smirk as she gleefully informed them, "I need a new wardrobe. Again."

"Nothing fits anymore?" Sam asked, sounded exasperated.

Eve shook her head.

* * *

><p>"Are you serious?" Cam asked, "Again?"<p>

"Again," Sam replied.

"Was there a trigger of some kind? A new power maybe?" Daniel inquired in a quiet voice.

"None that I could see. She did look pale last night, but I thought maybe she was still carsick. She's slimmer than Vala, so I let her borrow a belt."

"Unbelievable." Cam muttered, "Tell me this is the last time."

"Adria was in her mid-twenties when she started aging normally. Eve's in the same decade, so this should be it. It's fortunate that we're on Earth this time, instead of Pegasus or the Ori galaxy."

"Small favors."

"Indeed."

Vala had the grace to knock before walking in, announcing, "She's ready."

* * *

><p>Three hours later the team arrived in Smallville, Eve with a low-maintenance wardrobe and yet more books.<p>

A nervous glance in the rearview mirror revealed his daughter already halfway through one of her _Warriors_ books. Fear, self-hatred and resignation hit him like a train wreck and he was grateful Sam was driving.

Eve was fully grown. He had hoped for more time, time to actually raise her, influence her, soften her opinion on the Tau'ri. Now he was out of time and the rest of the team knew it. Once this mission was over they'd have to decide what to do about Eve.

_I believe the choice is mine._

Daniel flinched. How was he supposed to focus on the mission with _this_ hanging over his head?

_How did you focus during other crises? The Goa'uld? The Replicators? Whatever sustained you then, call it forth now._

So Daniel closed his eyes and tried to breathe evenly. Eve glanced up to confirm he was asleep before speeding through the rest of the book. Shutting it with a sort of finality, she was amused by Daniel's jolt back to the land of the living.

"Not funny."

"Yes it was."

Aoife twitched, sensing the remnants of a ritual. Eve assured her it was on her to-do list.

* * *

><p>Eve's first stop was the library to fill in the missing branches on her family tree. Having traced Melburn's line back to the Clan McCorrigan, she now turned to Claire's. Claire's father Nicholas held little interest for Eve. She knew he was from the Netherlands, she knew he was an archeologist, and she knew he placed his career over his grandchild. He was on some distant planet communicating with giant aliens, or so that particular report read. No what interested her was Claire's mother Edith.<p>

Born in Smallville, Edith McCallum skipped town at eighteen and dropped off the face of the earth. She never contacted her brother Dexter or sister Miriam again. The trio's surname suggested Celtic ancestry, and Eve was able to track the name back to Scotland. It was here she encountered new information. In 1605, Thomas McCallum married a woman named Pernelle. Pernelle's father Alain had fled France twenty years prior, settling in England and marrying an Englishwoman. Alain's mother was the only child of Countess Thoreaux, whose execution was ordered by a Duchess. The memories she had inherited from Isobel leaned heavily in the direction of payback.

Great Aunt Miriam remained in Smallville, eventually settling down with Arthur Potter. They had two daughters, Laura and Eleanor. Laura was the only Potter sibling to have children, and the child in question still lived here. According to numerous newspaper entries and an article in Time magazine, Lana Lang had been orphaned by the 1989 meteor shower and was raised by Eleanor.

So she did have living kin here. How should she respond to this?

In the end she decided to leave the issue alone unless she met the women. That decided, she left the library, grabbed two books and headed for the park. Three glorious hours later, she had almost completed the second when the sound of an argument reached her ears.

Skimming the same page to give the illusion of reading, she cocked her head to hear it better.

"We're just trying to protect you Kara-"

"From who? Lex? Lex has been more helpful than either of you Clark! What's so horrible about my past that nobody wants to tell me about it?" When Clark didn't answer, Kara said, "You're just like her. Won't tell me anything."

"Kara if you would just trust me-"

"But how am I supposed to trust you? You're lying to me!"

Eve shut the book and gave the argument her full attention. Kara was the blonde, her hair wavy and falling past her shoulders. Her blue eyes were narrowed in anger, but Eve sensed the beginnings of defeat. By contrast, the dark-haired Clark's posture was one of attempted reassurance, as if trying to soothe a skittish animal. His expression conveyed both pity and the beginnings of frustration. Clearly this was a subject they'd gone over multiple times, neither willing to concede ground to the other. They also had a lot of energy flowing through them. Kara's was slightly dimmer, as if held back.

Aoife tensed, feeling Clark was a threat and utter fury that she couldn't do anything about it. Eve calmly observed the pair's approach. Spotting her, Kara started for the bench.

"Kara don't bother her. She's reading."

Kara ignored him, sitting next to Eve and asking, "If you lost your memory what would you do?"

Mind moving like a wildfire, Eve quickly invented two scenarios. The first was that she wouldn't know she had amnesia at all, instead forging an identity from the conglomerate of memories she had. The second was less likely but would bother this Clark person.

"I would assume all parties are lying to me unless or until I had evidence to the contrary."

Clark's wince and Kara's look of triumph told Eve she'd said the right thing.

"I'm sorry if Kara bothered you Miss. Come on, let's go home."

Kara crossed her arms and huffed, "I'm not going!"

"Kara-"

"No!"

"You didn't hear any of that, did you?" Eve inquired, sliding the book into its bag and raising an eyebrow.

"Sure I did." Clark replied, but Eve cut him off, "I don't mean your ears detected sound, I mean your brain took in our words and the meaning behind them."

"I uh, I did get the meaning behind them. It's just that my cousin's ill and, I need to get her home."

"Bullshit." Eve replied, ignoring Kara's gasp, "Amnesia isn't crippling, she's not sick, she's not hurt, she's not an invalid, nor is she a child. Moreover she seems angry with you, and most people would give an angry person space and time to calm down before addressing the issue again. You seem more interested in treating her like a child throwing a tantrum than a rational adult, or so it seems to me . . ." she trailed off and glanced at Kara, who nodded rapidly.

"How long have you had amnesia?"

"A little over two months."

Eve nodded, "And Clark's treated you like glass ever since?"

"Pretty much yeah."

"Kara-"

"Go away Clark the grown-ups are talking." Eve cut him off. Her sudden rudeness surprised him, but he brushed it off quickly. She could see the indecision in his eyes. He knew how angry Kara was right now, but either he was convinced he was in the right or he didn't care, because he reached for Kara's arm anyway.

"We're going home now Kara," he began, "You can take a walk there and cool down."

Speed born of instinct gripped Eve and with a sharp, "The hell you are!" she seized his wrist and let her inner fire surge close to the surface. He didn't seem to feel her grip, but he did feel the heat.

"That. Is. Enough." Eve said coldly. "She doesn't want to go with you Clark, so leave her be."

"Look Miss, if you could just-"

"I said _be gone_!" Eve timed her words with Clark's rough yank, releasing him in time to watch him fall to the ground. She could see a handprint shaped burn on his wrist, cradled close to his body and already scarring over. That shouldn't be possible; if he had the accelerated healing of the Alteran DNA, why couldn't she read his mind?

Glaring at him, she silently challenged the young man to get up and try again. He didn't. Instead he stood up, wincing at the pain in his wrist, and tried once more to get Kara to come with him. She crossed her arms and turned away in a huff, eyes closed and nose in the air.

"Don't leave the park okay? I'll be back later to pick you up."

Kara remained silent. Her attempt at aloofness was adorable. Clark sighed and took his sweet time walking away.

"Bastard." Eve muttered before continuing audibly, "That was more fun than it had any right to be."

Kara smiled, "Thank you for sticking up for me."

"You're welcome. Are you okay?"

Her face fell, "No. I'm living with my cousin Clark and his girlfriend, but they're lying to me."

Eve raised both eyebrows as if surprised, "Do you have proof?"

"They won't tell me more about who I am. Then they tell me not to trust Lex and all he's done is help me."

_I'm going to need more than that._ Eve thought, and twenty minutes of gentle prodding later she got the full story. Kara woke up on a Detroit street with no memory. A waitress working at a small diner took pity on her, giving her a job and a place to sleep at night. A bald man who always wore nice clothing became a regular, introducing himself as Lex Luthor and offering to help her with her amnesia. One of the bus boys, a guy named Finley, went berserk at Lex's presence and tried to kidnap her. Something stopped him and he was arrested. Kara was brought back to Smallville, specifically the Kent's house.

Again her mind processed this at rapid speed, identifying a handful of problems that stemmed from Kara's amnesia. Amnesia meant freedom from expectations but left one vulnerable to potential enemies.

LuthorCorp's origins were rooted in agriculture, but recently had shifted into

biotechnology, defense contracting, and gods only knew what else. Lex's offer to help ran perpendicular to his often ruthless behavior in the business world; it was made even more unusual in that he seemed to have singled out Kara for reasons unknown.

The refusal on Clark's part to tell Kara the truth could be caused by anything from spite to a misguided belief that his silence was protecting Kara. That seemed the more likely of the two, as Clark continued to ask Kara to trust him without proving himself worthy of that trust. His attempt at protecting her was driving her into the arms of Lex Luthor, who was just enough of a chess master to take advantage of it.

"Would you like my perspective?"

The blonde glanced at her in confusion, "I guess so."

"I asked because I don't know you or anyone you're talking about personally, so my thoughts are free of influence."

A myriad of emotions flitted across Kara's face before finally settling on confusion, "Okay."

"The major players then are Lex Luthor and Clark correct?"

"And Clark's girlfriend Lana."

Oh _hell_ no. Her cousin had gone from a one person pity party to a compulsive liar? Why were all her human relatives so _stupid_?

Eve considered the best angle of attack. As Lex befriended and offered to help her, Kara was biased in his favor. Bashing Lex would only drive her away. But perhaps hearing something similar from a neutral party would be enough to convince Kara.

_The inconsistencies then._

"Lex is the head of successful business empire isn't he?"

Kara nodded.

"Running such a large corporation takes a lot of time and effort. It seems odd that he would suddenly leave that behind and go to Detroit, unless he was there on LuthorCorp business. Was there a convention of some sort going on?"

The blonde blinked and thought back, "I don't know."

"So he didn't have a reason to be there?"

"He said he liked the pie," Kara offered weakly.

"Most people don't hang around diners for the food alone."

Thankfully Kara was just innocent enough not to get the implications, "Well he offered to help me."

"You mentioned that. Why exactly, would he offer to help you?"

"Because he's a humanitarian."

Eve blinked, "I'm listening."

Kara brightened immediately, "He's built hospitals and funds scholarships and he helps a lot of people!"

Eve was unmoved, "Did you ever wonder why he did that? Have you researched his business? The things he's done to further the interests of his business?"

Kara's expression said she hadn't, that it hadn't even crossed her mind.

"You say he's built hospitals, and he has, but he merely supplies the money to see them built, stocked and staffed. Once a hospital is ready to admit patients, he steps back and never sees any of them. You say he funds scholarships, and he does, but he merely sets up a fund to be refilled and hands the responsibility of choosing the winners over to somebody else. He never sees the students his money is sending to college. I ask again, why you? What made you so different that Lex came to you personally, cultivated a relationship with you, and then offered his help?"

Kara opened her mouth to reply before closing it again, puzzled. Eventually she replied, "I don't know."

"If Lex knew you from before your amnesia, why didn't he tell you who you were? Better yet, why didn't he contact this cousin of yours?"

"I, I don't know."

"Do you know why most people do that? Single out the vulnerable, shower them with attention, affection, maybe gifts? First, because no one will notice you've disappeared. Second, because they want something from you. When they have no more use for you, you'll be discarded."

"Lex would never do that to me." Kara insisted, though she sounded unsure.

"How do you know?"

This time she didn't reply, but gave Eve the classic kicked puppy look.

"Don't cry."

"You sound just like Clark."

"Clark never told you _why_ you couldn't trust Lex."

Kara sniffed.

"Speaking of Clark, let's talk about him."

Kara cheered up. Her anger toward her cousin and cousin's girlfriend meant she'd be more willing to hear Eve out, especially if she attacked the issue head-on.

"Neither of them are big Lex fans, neither will say why. Did you ask?"

"I did, but Clark still wouldn't tell me. Just said I had to trust him."

"Which led to your loud and justifiable outburst. Can Clark offer proof of kinship? Why wasn't he looking for you when you were in Detroit? What does Lex say about Clark?"

"Lex said he grew up."

"It sounds like Lex is using you to get to Clark." Before Kara could voice her opinion on that statement Eve continued, "Here are a few things I would suggest. Ask Lex why he's so focused on helping you, and try to analyze his response. Then I would confront Clark. Ask for proof of kinship, ask why he didn't look for you when you disappeared, ask again why he doesn't trust Lex. Try not to lash out or jump down his throat, even if he deserves it."

"Why shouldn't I lash out?"

"Because if he really is keeping something from you and you do lash out, you confirm all his reasons for keeping the secret in the first place."

"Okay. What did you say your name was?"

Eve smirked at her, "I didn't."

Kara asked anyway, "What's your name?"

"Eve."

"Nice to meet you."

* * *

><p><em>I have changed.<em>

This in itself was not profound, given her rapid aging and everything connected to it. She walked to the motel window and stared unseeingly outside.

Her rage toward the Tau'ri, SG-1 and Daniel in particular, had faded to burning resentment. The feeling had once been a mere thought away and as familiar as her own shadow, following her and whispering darkly in her ear, encouraging her to lash out, to spill blood, to kill, avenge her mother, her grandfather, and the rest of the Ori.

She was still angry at Daniel for his role in Mama's death, would probably carry that anger to her grave, but she no longer gave thought to killing him. Much.

So what had happened? After being so angry for so long, to suddenly lose it was unsettling. As she understood it, people did not change so abruptly overnight. Mama had started out semi reasonable and become more extreme as she aged. The reverse was also possible, but both required a span of years to implement. A person didn't just _wake up_ and drop their prejudices.

Of course most people didn't go to bed sixteen and wake up twenty either. Perhaps it was a quirk of her DNA? Or were other forces at work?

A glance at her pendant, glittering despite being shrouded in darkness, revealed nothing. Aoife was dormant.

_So I have changed. My sire is right; the time has come to decide my future. Do I abandon my children to their fate, or rule over them as the sovereign they need?_

The decision was a difficult one. Abandoning them would be easy, but where would she go? The crusade had made her a galaxy's worth of enemies. Finding a safe planet was almost impossible given the Stargate and ships with faster-than-light travel.

Conversely, the Ori's empire now consisted of one galaxy and a third of another, leaving countless people at war with their neighbors. How much damage had the Priors done in her absence? How much deeper did the schism run due to their efforts? Without uncorrupted leadership they would destroy each other.

Her grip on the curtains tightened. The Ori's empire _needed_ a leader. As the sole living Ori, it fell to her to take up her mother's mantle, to lead them out of their darkness and into her light.

That said, telling them the Ori weren't gods was impossible. They believed she herself was a goddess, and telling them their goddess wasn't a goddess created a paradox.

Then there was Kara.

Normally Eve stayed far away from human conflict. Their petty squabbles meant nothing to her, so why should she get involved? Such had been the pattern until Kara's vocal argument with Clark drew close enough for her to hear. Interacting with arguing humans was completely out of character for her, and the Orici was fully aware of this.

She had already decided such a drastic change was impossible, yet she'd had a civil conversation with another living being and nothing had been destroyed.

Her eyes narrowed as a possible solution occurred. All the humans she knew were decades older than she was, therefore few could imagine themselves in her place. Kara wasn't an adult. She was a peer. Eve hadn't met anyone her age since she was a toddler in Celestis. Kara could understand some of Eve's problems better than others could. And she was isolated from others.

Eve smirked. She could play chess too.

* * *

><p>SG-1 had canvassed the town and asked people the same questions. Without fail, they came back with information they already knew.<p>

"It seems like most the meteor mutants-" Sam began, only for Eve to cut her off, "Metahuman."

"Ooh I like that!"

"Vala!"

"Metahuman then. It seems like the metahumans were children or teenagers when the showers hit."

"Okay, why is that important?"

"The body finishes growing around the age of twenty and the brain isn't far behind. Present company excluded," she added with a glance back at Eve. The brunette didn't acknowledge her.

"My guess is the agent in the meteor rock that's responsible for the resulting mutations has a greater effect on those who haven't fully matured, with the actual mutation taking a few years to manifest. There's also a secondary effect that warps their minds. They either lose the ability to judge right from wrong or break with reality. A lot of them end up at Belle Reve."

"Should we pay it a visit?"

"Placing it under your direct control would serve you better." Was Eve's recommendation. "Their staff are corrupt, they abuse their power, and their patients don't get many visitors."

"Are you trying to help? I really can't tell."

"Let it go Mitchell."

"What, exactly, are you suggesting Eve?" Sam inquired, turning to face the young woman.

Eve was silent for a minute, organizing her thoughts. Then she spoke, "Metahumans don't have to be a threat, but some are too far gone. Keeping them imprisoned does nothing for them but provide an opportunity to escape and do more damage. Analyzing their DNA might provide the basis for understanding what causes mutations. It would be easier to seize the prison and modify it than say, try and come up with a plausible gene therapy to 'cure' them."

"Eve-" Daniel began, only for Sam to cut him off, "No Daniel she's right. We're years from understanding DNA enough to reverse diseases we already have trouble with. Not to mention the ethical implications of trying to alter a person's genetic code."

Vala glanced at Eve.

"I did find this website for the Isis Foundation. It's a charity meant to help metahumans."

Daniel got up to read the screen, "Says they do anything from emotional support to placement in foster homes."

"It is a difficult task. The one who created this foundation must accept every metahuman that comes to them for aid, no matter what past wrongs they committed."

"Doesn't sound doable."

"Especially since a lot of these metahumans are probably afraid of the public reaction." Cam replied.

"A government that cannot protect its own-"

"Thank you Eve. We're aware of our shortcomings." Daniel cut her off.

"What're we thinking for tomorrow?"

"I'll call Landry and see what we can do about the prison. Daniel and Vala can check out Isis. Eve can, do whatever she's been doing since we got here I guess."

Eve held up the fourth _Warriors_ book and proceeded to ignore them.

* * *

><p>She finished the <em>Warriors<em> arc within the second day, glancing up when Daniel asked, "Have you been outside at all today?"

"Says the pale as death archeologist?"

"Touché."

"You've got some color darling," Vala butted in, shouldering past Daniel with a grin. "Pity you didn't take more after me."

"Thank god." Daniel muttered.

Eve said nothing, merely closed the final book. Six books in two days was a record, and without anything else to read, or Kara to talk to, Eve had nothing to do. Aoife brushed insistently against her mind, the ritual featuring strongly. Eve ignored her.

"I'm going to the park."

"Be back by dinner." Daniel said, only to be overridden by Vala's, "Be back before midnight!"

"Midnight?"

"She's an adult Daniel, she can take care of herself. I don't pity whoever tries to hurt her."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

><p>Kara sat next to Eve and sighed heavily. There was an aura of frustration and sadness about her.<p>

"How'd it go?"

"Badly. I tried talking to Lex like you suggested, he told me that secrets destroyed the friendship he had with Clark. He doesn't want secrets to ruin our friendship."

Eve made a noncommittal sound in her throat before speaking, "Still sounds like he's using you to get to Clark."

"Would it kill you not to be so hard on him?"

Eve raised an eyebrow, "No, but I doubt his ability to keep work and personal life separate. A manipulative person in the boardroom is likely the same in the bedroom if you know what I mean."

She knew that wasn't always the case but Lex's track record actively worked against him. Kara didn't appear to understand.

"One day he'll have to answer for what he has done, and his money and power won't protect him."

This seemed to appease the blonde for the time being.

"I don't have dental or medical records, all Lex found was a birth certificate."

That _was_ cause for concern.

"What about school?"

Kara showed her a few things Lex had also found, including a page from a yearbook.

"Modeling?"

"It just doesn't feel, right, you know?"

Eve gave her a noticeable once-over, "You've got the body for it."

Kara blushed, "Thank you. Have you ever been sick?"

Eve thought back. Her hybrid blood almost guaranteed her immunity from all but the strongest diseases. The only time she'd ever been sick was during infancy, when her digestive system was young and she frequently spit up.

"Not for a while."

"How long?"

"Little more than a year."

"What kind of person _never_ gets sick?"

"An extremely sheltered person with no social life." Eve replied, pulling the Archive from the bag and searching for the documents herself. As expected, only the birth certificate appeared.

"This doesn't make any sense."

"That's what I said."

"Someone else created this. It's just good enough to pass casual inspection but not good enough to stand up to heavy scrutiny."

"What does that mean?"

"Either someone is trying to erase you from the system, or you were never in the system to begin with."

Kara stared at her in disbelief, "How does that happen?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe Lex can help."

"Lex would only use this as a way to make you beholden to him. He and his father are only capable of doing the right thing if it benefits them."

Kara said nothing for a long time, and Eve decided she was thinking about what she'd been told. She was not expecting to see the blonde hide her face in her hands, her shoulders start shaking, and hear crying.

Eve had long accepted her inability to comfort crying people, but really, what was she supposed to say? She couldn't tell Kara it would be alright, because it might not be. She couldn't really say she'd stick around, because SG-1 only had twelve days left before deciding their next course of action. So she said nothing at all, awkwardly rubbing Kara's back while the blonde cried on her shoulder.

She felt a rush of emotion, a protective, almost affectionate feeling. Lex was a bastard in both senses of the word, Clark had buried his head in the sand, and the less said about Lana the better. No one had Kara's best interests at heart.

_I'm already involved. Kara seems to trust me and I have advantages others don't. _Eve glanced at the Archive and made a decision. She wasn't leaving until Kara got her memory back.

"I can help you Kara. I can create the missing records, I can find information that's kept well hidden. Maybe I can help you get your memories back."

Kara looked up, "Really?"

"I'll try my best."

* * *

><p>"618 3rd St." Vala read from the MapQuest sheet, "We're here. Hey, what was bothering Eve last night? She started glaring at Sam like she'd said something insulting."<p>

"I guess it was something Sam was thinking."

"Thought you'd told her to stop that."

"Thought about it."

"That's not funny Daniel."

"Vala, by the time Eve met me her powers were already active and she was consciously using them. I couldn't tell her to stop and I seriously doubt she knows how. Dr. Lam said it's as natural for her as breathing."

"So blink, breathe, read people's minds?"

"Telepathy." A young woman corrected her.

"What?"

"The correct term for mind reading is called telepathy." The same woman replied, tucking a strand of brunette hair behind her ear, "Welcome to the Isis Foundation."

"Thank you." Vala said brightly.

The woman seemed surprised by the thief's exuberance, "You're welcome. My name is Lana Lang, founder and owner of Isis. Our main mission is to provide emotional support to the meteor infected, help them to adjust to their powers and lead a normal life. Is one of you telepathic?"

"Not us." Vala replied, waving her hand back and forth between herself and Daniel.

"Do you know a telepath?"

Lana watched the pair exchange a nervous look, as if unsure they should answer.

Vala's reply of yes wasn't able to cover Daniel's no, and after exchanging a few more facial expressions Daniel's shoulders slumped and he asked, "Is there a private place we can talk?"

Lana nodded and led them to her office.

"The telepath is my daughter. I didn't know about her until her mother died and I got a call from the state. She was three years old."

"How old is she now?"

"Twenty."

Lana ran the math in her head. The telepath would have been a toddler the year of the first meteor shower.

"When did her powers manifest?"

Another nervous glance. The woman ignored the man's stern look and shake of his head. He grimaced when the woman turned to Lana and said, "They were, already active."

The pen scratching paused. Already active? Most meteor infected didn't display active powers until adolescence.

"She had active telepathy at the age of three?"

"Yes."

"So she's been using this power for seventeen years?"

"Give or take a few months, but yes."

"Has she ever displayed signs of violence? Hatred, undirected aggression, physically lashing out?"

The nervous glance made a third appearance and Lana narrowed her eyes. Either the pair had been cruel to the telepath or they'd become used to concealing their powers. A third, more uncomfortable option, was that the telepath had become controlling and was monitoring the pair from a distance.

As for Daniel and Vala, they both knew the answer to that question was a resounding yes. Eve had inherited Adria's temper and was not shy about using her powers against others. Physical violence was rare, usually a last resort.

Daniel appeared lost in his own little world, so Vala began speaking, "She hated him, hated us all. I don't know if her bias against him was because of her mother or something she came to on her own, but she didn't like Daniel, didn't trust him. She never trusted him . . ."

When Daniel said nothing she continued, "She was so angry when he first brought her back. Blamed Daniel for her mother's death. Distanced herself from everyone. Eve carried that grudge with her for years. Never used it as a weapon, not that I know of-"

"Only when she was furious," Daniel cut in, "Otherwise she glared at me from across the room and listed what she felt were my moral failings."

It was as if a dam had broken in the woman, and Lana was subjected to twenty minutes of nonstop talking: Vala's anger with Daniel for sleeping with a younger and more attractive woman, her resentment of Eve, both for being born and for bearing a strong resemblance to her mother, Eve's detection of the aforementioned resentment, and her pointed and often blunt responses towards Vala.

Then Daniel put in his two cents: he admitted he probably wasn't the best person to raise a telepath, he didn't know how her powers worked, nor would she listen when he tried to tell her scanning people's thoughts was wrong. He said outright that there was no love in their relationship but he did care about her. His sentiments were not returned.

Lana listened and occasionally made a note on the legal pad. The overall picture being painted was one of a woman who needed serious counselling, a man who had tried his best to raise a meteor-infected person, and a telepath who harbored resentment toward everyone.

"Is it possible your daughter's powers were triggered by her mother's death?"

Daniel looked at Vala, whose expression was one of panic. Eve's telepathy was active before the Odyssey returned to Earth, but he wasn't sure _when_ it had activated.

"I'm not sure."

Lana scribbled something down before speaking again, "As your daughter is an adult herself, she's probably getting ready to move out and move on. But maybe I can help her anyway. Here's my card. Have her call and make an appointment, maybe she'll listen to someone who understands."

* * *

><p>"You what?" Cam asked, hoping he had misheard.<p>

"Vala outed Eve as being superhuman." Daniel replied.

"That's what I thought you said. And why did you do that Vala?"

"Eve glared at Sam last night and I was asking Daniel why. He said it was probably something Sam was thinking, Eve's powers are as natural as breathing, blah blah blah-"

"The foundation's owner overheard and said the correct term for mind reading was telepathy. She asked us a few questions, how old Eve was, when her powers activated-"

"Powers plural?" Sam inquired, glancing up from her laptop.

"Just telepathy. She asked if Eve showed signs of violence, Vala went off on this tangent about how much she hates us, I mentioned the hardships of a normal person raising a telepath, and Miss Lang gave me her card. She said to have Eve make an appointment."

"I can see that not workin'."

"Landry might not be too thrilled either."

"Eve will not like the idea DanielJackson."

"I know. I'd like to think all Eve wants is another superhuman being to interact with, and through the Isis Foundation she can meet other, metahumans, maybe make some real friends."

"Or gather bloodthirsty allies and restart the crusade!" Vala countered, "If all these metahumans end up in prison and completely mad, Eve's got plenty of targets to point them at. And now she's old enough to do so."

"Well I doubt she'll walk off tonight Vala. She does have a curfew. Sort of."

"What time?"

"Well I said dinner and Vala said midnight, so hopefully she'll be home sometime in between."

But as the hours passed and Eve didn't come back, Daniel began to worry.

"I left her some money in case she got hungry. Maybe she went out to sample the local fare."

When the sun set and Eve still didn't appear, Cam started worrying too. Eve's powers were formidable, but if unleashed here they'd need a lot of help with damage control. At ten o'clock they crammed into the ladies' room to search for clues.

Eve's suitcase was still under the bed, her clothes in the chest of drawers she'd commandeered, and all her books were accounted for. Her toiletry bag was missing.

"Let's not panic yet." Sam suggested, watching Daniel pace the room.

"Eve's missing and you don't think we should panic?" Daniel asked, looking at Sam like she'd lost her mind.

"We know she wasn't abducted." Sam continued, "Someone would have heard it, the room would be a mess, and Eve probably would have killed them."

"'Probably'?" Vala repeated.

"That's a pretty strong accusation Sam," Cam began, "Would Eve really do that?"

"Eve aged too quickly for DanielJackson to truly raise her ColonelMitchell," Teal'c countered, "The memories of her Ori ancestors may be too strong to overcome."

"She may not want to." Vala added.

Sam tried to get the conversation back on track, "Her toiletry bag is missing, so if she went somewhere she went willingly. Does she have a cell phone?"

Daniel squeezed his eyes shut, "No she doesn't."

It was Vala who noticed the slip of paper on the bedside table, and picked it up to read it, "Spending the night at a friend's. Back tomorrow. Eve."

"She has a friend?" Cam asked in disbelief.

"We've been here a couple days. That's long enough to make a friend isn't it?" Vala replied.

"I don't know."

"Perhaps she is making an effort to fit in." Teal'c suggested.

"We can ask her when she gets back."

* * *

><p><em>Several hours earlier<em>

As creating the missing records required a lack of prying eyes and Kara didn't want to return to the Kent's, Eve took her back to the motel. Her sense of timing proved beneficial; SG-1's motel rooms were empty when the girls got there, and a note from Samantha was on the bedside table. They were in town all day, and wouldn't be back until evening. They'd left a twenty in the bedside table drawer if she got hungry before they returned.

"Remarkable show of trust in me Samantha." Eve murmured under her breath.

"Who?"

"A friend of my, father."

Kara nodded, and with Eve's assistance they fleshed out false medical records. It was kind of fun actually, choosing illnesses and missed days of school, but eventually it became repetitive. Eve thought the same, because she said, "Flu shot from the sixth grade on. Haven't had a cold in a while."

"Sure. Can we hurry this up? I'm getting hungry."

"Certainly. Cold, stomach virus, headache, done. Your dental records are flawless by the way."

"Thanks. What's going to happen to them?"

"The Archive will see them filed with the correct offices without being seen. Hopefully it's enough to throw people off."

Eve glanced at Kara, noticing her half-hearted smile.

"What's wrong?"

"I guess I should go back now."

"Don't want to?"

"Not really."

"Is anyone home right now?"

"I don't know."

"I'm not ready to part ways either . . ." she wasn't, but she wasn't ready to call what they had friendship either. "May I walk you home? Or should we eat first?"

Kara grinned at her.

* * *

><p>"And I was looking for my cuff bracelet yesterday, and Lana told me off for going through Clark's things. I asked her a few questions, showed her these pictures, and said Lex gave them to me."<p>

"Dare I ask how she responded?"

Kara took a minute to sip her soda before answering, "She said the same thing about Lex that you did, that he would use me and then discard me. I was pretty mad by then, so I asked her to prove Lex was lying. She just stared at me with pity in her eyes."

Eve watched calmly while Kara ranted, "Why would she do that? She had the answers I needed, she could at least start earning my trust back, but she didn't!"

"Fear and stupidity are linked. Lana is afraid that if she tells you the truth, you'll tell Lex. In keeping your secret she drives you closer to Lex, justifying her decision not to tell you in the first place. Refill?"

"Please," Kara replied, holding her cup out. Eve filled the plastic cup with a green soda the Tau'ri called Mello Yello. She poured herself some and grabbed another slice of pizza.

"Do you still have the file Lex gave you?"

"I left it in my room."

"Bring it down and we'll look through it."

The blonde retrieved the file, spreading pictures all over the table.

"Let's not get pizza on this. Assuming there's any left."

Kara glanced at the box, "Couple slices left."

Eve looked up in confusion, "How can _that_ be? We ate like we were starving!"

Kara shrugged. Eve shook her head and glanced at the images, recognizing a few from some of Daniel's papers.

"Lex said some of them were burned into the fields and the Kents' barn. This one was a tattoo on Lana's back. For some reason she doesn't have it anymore."

Aoife's reaction was the strongest yet, fragments of curses, profanities and pure rage stampeding into Eve's mind. It registered as a minor headache, and one that her powers swiftly took care of.

"The only place some of these symbols are found are the Kawatche cave system. Which one was on your bracelet?"

"None of these, but this one is the closest match," Kara pointed to a figure eight enclosed in a pentagon.

"Okay. First thing tomorrow I think we should check out the caves." Eve glanced out the window and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"It'll be dark soon. My father will panic if he gets back to the motel and finds it empty."

"Do you have a cell phone?"

"No."

"We've got a phone here. Why don't you call him?"

_Because I don't want to._ Eve thought. She replied, "I doubt he'll listen." Rising from the kitchen chair, she prepared to return to the motel. It would be easier to climb in through the window than get a ride, and a ride meant a lecture. On the other hand, she'd aged past her rebellious stage without any significant rebellion.

Kara looked ready to cry again too, her pleading stare more like a child's than a young adult's.

"Please don't go."

"Kara-"

"Clark doesn't understand and Lex is busy a lot. You understand and you made time for me. Please don't leave me here with them."

Eve would forever swear her choice was influenced by Mama's memories of motherhood.

"If I stay, I'll need a couple things first."

Kara gave her a watery smile.

**Welcome to the crossover.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Genealogy is a difficult subject to navigate. And by that I mean it's out to kill me.**

"Did we really need to climb out the window?"

"No."

"Then why did we climb out the window?"

"Because I've never done it."

Kara rolled her eyes and turned away, "I don't think Clark will be friendly. He cornered me when I got home and asked all these questions. Who was that girl, where'd she come from, what did you talk about. I told him it was none of his business."

"Bet he loved that."

Kara smiled, though it was dim, "He said it wasn't safe to be wandering around but I couldn't stand it at the farm anymore. I don't wanna live with people who claim they know me but won't tell me who I really am."

"Did he order you not to hang out with me?"

"He started to, then Lana came home and I snuck out the back door."

"Unfriendly reception. Nothing I haven't dealt with before."

Kara sighed and squared her shoulders, assuming the demeanor of a soldier going into battle. Eve suggested sleeping in the barn, becoming concerned when Kara didn't dismiss the idea.

"Clark? We're back!"

Eve heard the creaking of springs, likely from a couch or chair, and the dark haired Kent appeared in the kitchen.

"Where were you Kara? Your note said you were out but it didn't say where."

"I was with a friend of mine. Eve this is Clark, my cousin."

"I remember him Kara."

Clark didn't look happy to see her either.

"And this is his girlfriend Lana."

"Nice to meet you."

Eve chose to nod instead of answer, as she did not think it was nice to meet Lana, and saying ill met instead would be problematic.

"Eve's staying the night."

Clark's eyes widened, "She is?"

Kara nodded, "It's easier if she sleeps here than if we met at the park in the morning and _then_ went to the caves."

Not how Eve would have done it, but the reaction was better than she'd hoped. Clark's eyes widened further and Lana looked a little pale.

"She's going with you?"

"Yeah."

The myriad of expressions were almost as good as the thoughts that caused them. She watched the two cycle through various excuses for why one or both of them couldn't go to the caves, only to fall short. Given their reaction, it was likely the caves held answers; answers that Clark and Lana seemed desperate to keep from them. Eve felt a perverse sense of glee when the pair arrived at the same conclusion: there was nothing they could do.

"Kara I don't think-"

"Do you want one of us to come with you?"

"Why? So you can lie to me some more?"

Eve cleared her throat and Kara tried to calm down. Her fingers curled around Eve's, and the blonde drew comfort from the contact. Eve seemed oblivious to this while Clark did a double take at their intertwined fingers.

Lana flinched briefly at Kara's cutting words but Eve could still sense her conviction. The other brunette believed she was right in lying to Kara. The other thing Eve could sense was that the pair had been thoroughly blindsided. Kara had brought home someone who was a veritable stranger to everyone, but their arrival time put Clark and Lana in a bind.

It was dark out. Eve was a young woman. Sending a young woman into the dark, alone, tended to rub humans the wrong way. Everything that could happen to her tumbled through Lana's mind and likely Clark's as well. Despite their fear for Kara and possible dislike of Eve, the pair could not in good conscience send her away.

"We might have a sleeping bag somewhere." Lana said, "You'll be in the guest room right?"

Eve looked at Kara, who nodded sharply and yanked the file off the counter. The blonde led Eve up the stairs, the brunette's eyes narrowed in amusement. She would treasure Clark's bewildered expression for days to come.

"The bathroom's right there, Clark and Lana usually sleep in the master bedroom, and this is the room they were nice enough to give me."

It wasn't much to look at either, smaller than her room at the SGC. It also belonged to Clark at some point.

"Bed's kinda small."

"Lana's looking for the sleeping bag."

"Or we could spoon."

Kara's look of confusion was cute, and perfectly timed with Aoife's snort of amusement and the sound of Clark choking.

"What does that mean?"

Oh this was _too_ perfect, "It's when two people lie right next to each other, one person's front against the other's back."

The significance of this flew right over Kara's head, "Why would they do that?"

"Lack of space, a need for comfort or human contact, a sense of romantic love, or cuddling after intercourse."

The sound of breaking glass sounded from downstairs. Eve reveled in Clark's discomfort.

Kara still looked confused, and Eve's practical side kicked in. Eve was _not_ going to give Kara the talk, no matter how funny Clark's reaction would be.

"Intercourse?"

_Then again . . ._ "Sex."

"Oh." Kara replied, eyes widening as something else broke downstairs.

"Clark's rather clumsy isn't he?"

"Yeah. Weird." Kara shook her head before she continued, "Can we skip straight to the cuddling part?"

"Of course."

Lana walked into the room carrying the sleeping bag. She was greeted by the sight of Eve and Kara staring at the bed as though trying to solve a complex math problem.

"It won't work."

"Sure it will! Okay it'll be awkward at first but after a few minutes-"

"One of us gets up and the other sprawls across the free space. My bed at my father's is larger than this."

"I've got the sleeping bag." Lana interrupted. Kara pointedly ignored her while Eve shot her a dirty look.

"Um, good night."

Eve nodded curtly.

Kara had stolen the sleeping bag while Eve's back was turned and the blonde shot her a cheeky grin. Eve smirked at her, rolled her eyes and stretched out on the bed. She didn't expect to get much sleep.

Barely an hour later Aoife prodded Eve awake. A sense of purpose, importance, and impending doom colored the witch's thoughts. Eve focused on the hushed conversation down the hall.

"-making an effort at least."

"Which is a good thing," Lana replied, "She's not Lex, she's from out of town, she doesn't know anyone. Eve has no reason to lie to Kara because she doesn't know Kara."

"What if Eve finds something in the caves?"

"We can't just stop them from going Clark. Eve noticed our expressions when Kara mentioned the caves, and if _she_ believes we're lying to Kara . . ."

"Then she'll check out the caves no matter what. I could get Kara to help with some of the farm chores in the morning, but I don't know about Eve."

"I could keep her distracted for a little while, maybe show her around Smallville. Besides, they can't get into the Fortress without you right?"

Eve perked up. What fortress?

"What if Eve hurts her?"

Lana's silence prompted elaboration, "When Kara met Eve in the park that day, I tried to pull her off the bench. Eve grabbed my wrist."

"So?"

"Her touch burned my skin."

"She burned you?" Lana asked in concern, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now."

"So Kara's new friend is meteor infected?"

"I think so."

"Last thing we need is a meteor infected learning your secret, unless I can get her to Isis and convince her not to tell anyone."

Aoife stirred, preparing to hijack Lana's mind and steer the conversation in another direction.

_Wait._

"What should we do?"

"We can't just out her as infected. The damage she did to your wrist is long gone, and after today Kara won't believe anything we tell her."

Eve shifted, not much, just enough to get comfortable. As expected, the voices paused. Instead of stopping, they just moved further down the hall.

"Maybe we can get more information in the morning."

Eve was already planning responses that would give little away, and with Aoife standing guard she fell into an uneasy sleep.

As Kara had said, the rooster crowed sometime before dawn. Eve was already awake, listening for the sounds of others moving around.

The blonde raised her head, her hair a mess, and mumbled unintelligibly.

"How are you even up?"

"Old habits."

Kara burrowed into the sleeping bag and groaned audibly when the door opened. Clark stepped in and greeted them, asking Kara if she would mind helping him for a couple of hours.

"Go'way Clark!" she snapped, yanking the pillow into the sleeping bag.

"It won't take long."

Eve snorted, drawing the pair's attention.

"Depending on the number of animals and the state of your equipment it could be noon before you're finished Clark, even with Kara's help."

A muffled "what she said" echoed from the sleeping bag.

"I'm gonna fix breakfast, then I'll show you how to feed the horses. You like the horses right?"

"Clark, neither of us cares about the horses right now. Kara is clearly half asleep, we're hungry, and you didn't knock before coming in. What if we were naked?"

Clark's face turned bright red, "Uh, well, I-"

Eve brushed him off, "Go away Clark."

The pillow erupted from the sleeping bag as soon as the sound of footsteps faded. Kara's cheeks were flushed with anger.

"Has he asked for your help before?"

She shook her head, "He's worried I'll get hurt. Sometimes he lets me do little things like feed the animals, but he doesn't normally ask . . . He's trying to stop us from seeing the caves."

"So he is."

"Why else would he ask me for help today? I have a friend over and we told them our plans last night."

"Your past must be more dangerous than we thought."

Kara yawned widely and gestured for Eve to continue.

"Digging into your past makes Clark nervous-"

"Does he expect me to accept his lies with nothing but a pat on the head?"

"-Meaning he either doesn't want you get your memories back, or he doesn't want me to help." Eve continued, ignoring the interruption.

Kara blinked slowly, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Then she met Eve's eyes, "Why would we be naked?"

"You're adorable."

"No really, why would we be naked?" Kara asked, unzipping the sleeping bag and rising to her knees.

Eve's eyes flicked over Kara, her wrinkled pajamas, her tousled hair, her sleepy expression, and found it oddly appealing.

"People who have sex are usually in some stage of undress."

Kara tilted her head, "And then they cuddle?"

"Yes."

When the pair came downstairs a few minutes later, Eve was disappointed to see nothing broken. Instead Clark was frying eggs and Lana was setting the table.

"Morning."

"Yes it is." Eve replied, ignoring the snort from behind her.

"We didn't get to talk much last night." Lana began, taking a sip of coffee before she continued, "What brings you to Smallville Eve?"

"Genealogy."

"That sounds interesting. Do you have family here?"

"I do."

"Have you contacted them yet?"

Eve raised an eyebrow, "No."

"Anyone we know?" Clark inquired.

"Maybe."

"Are you gonna tell us?"

"Why?"

Clark didn't react, much, "Just asking."

Eve's grin widened.

"Where are you from?"

"Many miles and a world away."

"Where'd you go to school?"

"I didn't."

"Homeschooled?" Kara inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Indeed."

"Were you ever in Smallville before?" Lana inquired. Eve had a forkful of egg in her mouth, and took her time wording an answer.

"No."

"Were either of your parents?"

"Is that any of your business?"

Kara pushed her plate away and slid the chair back.

"I'm just asking. If you have living relatives here then you might have read about the meteor showers."

"I've read about them." Her eyes narrowed, "Are you accusing me of something?"

Lana's reaction was better than Eve had hoped. The other brunette's mind blared her thoughts with the volume of an air raid siren. Thoughts as a rule were rarely complete sentences, but a combination of emotions, memories, sensations, images, and sounds. From the impression she wrung something meaningful.

First, few things could hurt Clark, and the most common threats were green meteor rock and the meteor infected. Second, the overwhelming majority of said infected lost control and went on rampages. Third, Eve seemed very close to uncovering Clark's secret. Such knowledge and no loyalty to Clark or his close friends made her a liability if not a threat, one to be neutralized as quickly as possible.

Lana's attempts to placate Eve fell painfully flat. Eyes alight with cold fire, Eve refused to respond to either of her hosts. Kara came back downstairs and handed Eve her bag.

"Can't you wait an hour? I really do need Kara's help." Clark protested.

Eve's glare deepened, and her response actually frightened Clark, "**Liar!**"

Kara held the door open and led her off the property.

Clark shivered. Something about Eve's voice wasn't right, as if another person was speaking through her.

"That's not good." he muttered.

"No kidding. Did you see Kara's face before they left?"

Clark nodded, asking, "Now what?"

"Well we can't go after either of them right now. Let's give them some time to cool down, then maybe we can talk to them. It's not like Kara will go running to Lex when Eve is right there with her."

Eve growled under her breath all the way into town.

"I'm sorry. If I'd known they'd be like that I wouldn't have introduced you."

Eve had given up on telling herself she wasn't angry, because she was. She had had more than enough of the instant judgment, judgment from strangers who had never met her before. As Kara's arm slid around her shoulders, Eve considered taking up her mother's mantle and restoring her empire to its previous glory. The endeavor could take decades, but Ascension-granted immortality meant she had all the time she'd ever need. But the tenseness in her shoulders faded with Kara's continued affection. She squeezed Eve's hand and smiled.

Their first stop was the Talon for more food, as neither had finished breakfast. Their second was the department store for flashlights. Eve wolfed down a couple muffins before reaching the caves.

As expected from prior research, the walls were covered with symbols and drawings, many significant to the Kawatche people . . . and possibly Clark and Kara.

"Naman and Sageeth, close as brothers and doomed to be enemies." Eve explained to a confused yet interested Kara. The pair stood side by side, Eve holding the file folder and Kara the flashlight.

"Am I Kawatche then?"

"It's possible but unlikely. I don't think they make thick metal cuff bracelets either."

Kara kicked a rock and crossed her arms, pouting angrily. Eve pointed out a trio of symbols, "This one I've seen, the other two seem familiar."

"Lana's tattoo?"

"It means transference. It was a symbol used in witchcraft by the French countess Thoreaux. These other two were likely claimed by her comrades, Madelyn and Brianna."

"Witchcraft?" Kara snorted in disbelief.

"It's a big universe."

An echoed sound caught their attention. Two flashlight beams pierced an opening near the back of the cave.

"That's curious."

"If you say so."

Eve led Kara into the opening, walking around a piece of carved stone covered in the same markings.

"And curiouser."

"Louis Carol?"

"Very good."

"This isn't Kawatche either, is it?"

"No. The symbols are too precise to be done by an amateur. And this indentation here," she indicated the depression in the center, "Had something in it."

Kara traced the most familiar symbol, the figure eight in the pentagon, and sighed.

"Eve, this isn't helping. I still can't remember anything."

Eve stood fluidly, brushing dirt from her jeans, "Sorry."

"Maybe it wasn't a total loss? Lex was right about the symbols wasn't he?"

Eve shot her a dark look and muttered something derogatory, and Kara changed the subject, "So, witchcraft?"

"It's a big universe." Eve repeated. The she noticed the slot. Like the carved stone, the edges were too smooth, too exact. Lana had mentioned something about a fortress. Was this piece of stone a door? Was this slot a keyhole?

Eve's eyes narrowed, "Lana mentioned something about a fortress."

"Fortress?"

"'They can't get into the fortress without your help.' She said it to Clark last night after we went to bed. I think this piece is a door, and this slot is a keyhole."

"Weird looking shape for a keyhole."

"Probably not the kind of key we're familiar with." Eve looked at Kara, "You know we have to go back right?"

"Do we have to?" she whined.

"If this is a keyhole, then the key is somewhere on the Kent property."

"What if Clark's got it with him?"

"I kinda doubt he'd carry something that important around with him_." Especially if it draws unwanted attention._ "Have you searched the house before?"

"And some of the barn. Then Lana came in."

Lana's bias in Clark's favor was quickly becoming a nuisance. What Clark saw in her was beyond Eve.

"Well Kara, we can go turn Clark's house upside down, or you can help me with genealogy."

"Genealogy."

Most of the information Eve was already familiar with, such as Dexter McCallum being imprisoned for the murder of his wife Louise. The real murderer was Lachlan Luthor, whose eventual death was arranged by his son Lionel, and Lionel's son was a bald control freak. It seemed the sons of Luthor had become proud and quick to wrath.

Aoife stirred, her thoughts a montage of poison and fire and agony.

Eve felt the beginnings of a nervous tic. It seemed stupidity ran in family.

Aoife was just annoyed that plain and simple _cousin_ didn't work anymore; the degrees and removals made her head hurt. Eve agreed.

"Next stop: the cemetery."

"Can I come too?"

"Whatever keeps me away from my father and you from your idiot cousin and compulsive liar of a girlfriend."

Though the walk to the cemetery took them past the Kent farmhouse, no one was around to bother them. Eve found the headstones of the relatives buried here, including the Langs. Kara had wandered off, pausing at a headstone with the name Kent on it. Upon pointing this out to Eve, she thought aloud, "A relative?"

"Possibly."

"You just can't say yes or no can you?"

Eve grinned at her.

"So how is Lana related to you? If it's something more complicated than cousin I'll need an explanation."

"Second cousin once removed. In simple terms, second cousins share a set of great-grandparents, but not grandparents. A cousin removed belongs to a different generation."

"I'm just gonna nod and pretend I understood that."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Speaking of sleep . . ." Kara turned to face Eve before she continued, "I don't trust Clark or Lana, and I don't think I can stay in that house anymore. I hope you don't mind Eve, but I was wondering if I could stay with you."

Eve raised an eyebrow, "Do you mind sleeping in a motel?"

"No."

"Do you mind sharing that motel room with three other women-"

"No."

"Bearing in mind there are two beds in this room and you would be sharing one with me?"

Kara considered it for a minute, "Is it a large bed?"

"Yes."

"Would we have to spoon?"

"Only if we chose."

"No. I don't mind."

"Let's grab your stuff first."

Kara's introduction to Eve's father and his friends went more smoothly than Eve's meeting with Clark.

"'Lo Eve! Who's this?"

"Vala this is Kara. Kara, this is my grandmother."

"Hi."

"Where are the others?"

"Around. Cam mentioned something about pizza and I may have threatened him if I had to eat it again." Then Vala noticed the bag in Kara's hand.

Eve wasn't begging for the challenge per se, and Vala was thrilled she was making friends, but Daniel might not appreciate said friend staying overnight.

"You staying the night then?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay."

Kara took the empty half of the dresser Eve had claimed, kicking her empty duffle bag under the bed and cooing over the box art of _New Prophecy_.

"He won't like this at all, you know that right?" Vala murmured.

"I am an adult Vala. I have no need of my sire any longer."

"What about her?"

"She needs me right now. When she no longer has need of me I'll start my own path."

Vala said nothing, only shrugged and went to warn the others. The presence of Eve's new friend was a relief for them all, though Daniel wished she hadn't brought the friend here.

"It'll make it harder to talk."

"We can talk in your room Daniel." Sam replied, "At least she's making an effort right?"

"It _is_ partly our fault she never made friends her own age." Vala reminded them.

"I'm glad she's trying at least, but my question is does she know how friendship works?" Cam inquired, "Yes it is our fault she doesn't have peers, but how do we know she's not going to hurt this girl?"

"Perhaps it is because this Kara is a young woman." Teal'c suggested. Daniel understood immediately, "They're the same age. Eve's never had a friend her own age."

The snort of derision was audible in spite of the closed door.

"What about Miss Lang's card?" Vala asked.

"Kara's not a metahuman, not that I've seen, and giving Eve a business card for metahuman counselling might drive her first friend away." Daniel replied.

"Not to mention she'd get mad." Cam added. "And probably destructive."

Eve rolled her eyes at the team and turned her attention to Kara. The blonde stretched out on the bed and stared at the ceiling contemplatively. Twice she looked at Eve and opened her mouth, only to close it and look away.

"Spit it out." Eve drew out the words. Kara chewed on her lip a minute before speaking, "Could I get my memories back with magic?"

Eve cocked her head, "Maybe, maybe not. I wouldn't know."

"You said you had witch ancestors."

"Just because my ancestors were witches doesn't mean I'm a witch myself."

Kara nodded, expression falling, "I thought maybe magic would help."

Aoife stirred once more, managing to convey that the price to reverse amnesia was the memories made during amnesia. Kara would not remember the aid Eve had provided, and might react in violence against her.

Eve's fingers gripped her knees so hard her knuckles turned white. She didn't want to lose Kara, not this soon, and the knowledge that the blonde could forget her proved to be more than she could handle. She needed an outlet, and a glance toward the one on the wall provided one.

The lights flickered and went out. Cam and Teal'c stiffened, Sam looked up in confusion and Daniel squeezed his eyes shut and muttered, "Oh no."

The ominous rumbling from beneath their feet caught their attention. A pale-faced Vala said, "Uh oh" before the building started shaking.

While SG-1 scrambled for flashlights and checked on other motel guests, Kara and Eve watched the moon rise. The brunette pointed out what stars could be seen despite their current location and the moon's brightness. When they retired, Kara pressed herself into Eve's back and sighed contentedly.

"Really Kara?"

"Shut up. You're warm."

"Goodnight Kara."

_I have you now, for however long it will last._ She thought to herself, absently caressing a strand of blonde hair. Kara said nothing, instead pressing closer and murmuring unintelligibly.

Eve's meditation woke Kara the next morning, but she was too out of it to make out the words. The repetition sent her back to sleep, snuggling closer to the warmth she felt. The brunette paused, rolled her eyes, and continued.

An hour later Kara began stirring and muttering about food.

"Good morning to you too."

"Mornig," she yawned, nuzzling Eve's shoulder before raising her head.

"Hungry?"

"Uh-huh."

"I've got something."

"I just don't want to drive two hours to Metropolis if we can get – Daniel, Eve has a sandwich."

"I can see that Cam."

"Why?"

"Because she thought ahead?"

"No I mean why does she have food and we don't?"

Eve handed Kara a bowl of raspberries and leveled a glare at them.

"I've got a few MREs," Sam's raised voice reached them from across the hall, "Good thing Daniel packed them."

"I didn't pack any MREs!" the archeologist protested, shooting Eve an irritated look and stalking out of the room.

"MRE?"

"Meal ready to eat. The only thing fit for consumption by the military."

"They're not that bad." Vala commented, her mouth full.

"_Everything_ tastes like chicken."

Vala glanced down at the remains of her meal, shrugged, and continued to eat.

The highlight of the day was the multilingual Scrabble game. The unspoken rule was that no offworld languages were allowed, but that didn't stop Eve from slipping an Alteran word here and there anyway. Daniel's attempts to counter with Goa'uld were not impressive, and Eve smugly tallied the points while Daniel glanced at the board. Not an English word to be found. When had Eve had time to learn Gaelic and French?

After slaughtering the rest of them at chess the power came back on.

"Wanna go to the park?"

Kara nodded.

"Actually come back tonight, okay?" Daniel asked. "There's stuff we have to talk about!"

Eve didn't answer.

"She won't be back tonight will she?" Sam asked.

"I doubt it."

"Last time he went to the Fortress Jor-El trapped him in ice for a month! Why would he chance the Big Chill a second time?" Chloe snapped, taking in the damaged barn.

Lana could hear the capital letters in "big chill" and shivered.

"Kara made a new friend recently, a young woman named Eve. She's from out of town."

"Why do I get the feeling this Eve character is bad news?"

Lana grimaced, "She's trying to help Kara get her memories back. They went to the caves yesterday and haven't been back since."

Chloe wasn't too worried yet. The only way to find the alter was by knowing where it was already, and without the key they'd hit a dead end.

"Clark was hoping that Jor-El would give her back her memories and her powers."

"Before Eve uncovers her secret. Should we be worried?"

"Eve noticed the way Clark and I reacted to Kara mentioning the caves. If she believes we're lying to Kara then she might have inferred the caves were worth checking out."

"Worst case scenario is they find the altar. They can't activate it themselves . . ." Chloe trailed off, noticing a book lying at the top of the staircase.

"Clark wanted to get to the Fortress fast but he needed something from the loft first."

Chloe rushed up the stairs and opened the book. The Key was inside.

"I don't think he got what he came here for. This Key opens the portal to the Fortress."

"How did you know that?"

"I kinda followed him there a couple years ago."

"If the key's still here-" Lana began.

"Then he never made it to the Fortress so something must have stopped him."

They noticed a dart on the barn floor, a luminous green fluid inside. A Kryptonite Taser. Someone had kidnapped Clark.

Chloe wished they had more to go on. Without Eve's last name they couldn't search for her motel room, and that's if she was staying in the motel in town.

Despite Lana's fears that they could be anywhere, Kara and Eve proved somewhat easy to track down. They were seated on a park bench, the brunette bent over a sleek tablet computer, the blonde leaning into her side. It was Eve who spotted them first, blue fire dancing in her eyes. Kara's eyes followed and widened, "What do you want?"

"Hi Kara. Excuse me miss, could we borrow our friend for a minute?" Chloe asked in what she hoped was a friendly manner.

Though Eve's voice was light, her reply was cutting, "'Your friend' you say? Funny she's never mentioned you."

Kara stared hard at Chloe, muttered angrily when it triggered no memory, and slumped against Eve with a huff. The brunette threaded her fingers through the blonde's hair and murmured back. The motion seemed too fluid to be spur-of-the-moment, and the way Kara relaxed under the attention meant this wasn't the first time it had happened either.

Chloe's eyes narrowed. Kara couldn't have known Eve for more than a few days, but the way they interacted suggested otherwise. Kara trusted Eve and Eve protected Kara in return. Separating them could be a problem, given Kara's mistrust and Eve's possible bias in Kara's favor.

"Kara you have you come with us right now." Lana said, forgoing politeness. Kara's expression hardened.

"We'll explain everything later, I _promise_ we will, but you have to trust us."

"I don't even know you!" Kara snapped, glaring at Chloe. The shorter blonde was taken aback. She had expected anger, even resentment, but nothing so bad that Eve's arm was all that kept Kara from attacking them.

Eve cackled inside; this too was priceless, and worth _any_ lecture Daniel could come up with later.

"I'm Chloe Sullivan. I know you don't remember me, but we have met before." Then she turned to Eve, "But I know we haven't met. So, what's your name?"

"Eve."

"Nice to meet you." Chloe replied, extending her hand and missing Lana's wild "no" gesture.

"Would that I could say the same," Eve began, squeezing Chloe's hand a little too tightly, "Now what did you want with _my_ friend?"

Chloe went with the truth, at least in part, "We're going to get Kara's memories back."

Anger sparked to life in Kara's eyes, "Why didn't you get them back before?"

"Because Lana is afraid." Eve replied.

"Well I can't speak for her but, I didn't know how until today."

Eve cocked her head. Chloe spoke the truth.

"So why don't you come with us, and we'll get that taken care of, alright?"

Kara laced her fingers with Eve's prompting a single confused glance from the brunette.

"Not without Eve."

Lana stepped forward, "Kara-"

Kara cut her off, "Eve has done more to help me in three days than you have in three weeks. She comes with me or neither of us go anywhere."

Chloe looked helplessly at Lana, who returned the sentiment. Clark was in trouble and only a repowered Kara could save him. Chloe steeled herself. Clark first, Eve later.

"Okay."

"What?" Lana asked.

"We don't have a choice Lana."

Lana privately thought this was a bad idea, especially when a glance at Eve revealed the self-satisfied smirk of a person who has gotten exactly what they wanted.

Eve waltzed into the Fortress without a jacket. She neither had nor needed one, as Chloe noticed when she glanced at the brunette's tracks. They had melted and refrozen, and steam rose from where she stood.

"You were right." Kara said, pulling her coat tighter around her, "It was a doorway."

Eve said nothing, aware of the steady hum of power around her. This place was dangerous.

Chloe's first attempt fell on deaf A.I. ears. It seemed this Jor-El person had no interest in helping them. So Chloe changed tactics, "Out of all the planets across the universe you decided to send your only son to this one, to Earth! You trusted us to protect him! Now please, Jor-El, I need you to trust me. I love your son! He's in danger and he needs our help!"

That got a response, in the form of wind from nowhere, the lights dimming, and a crystal console glowing red.

A frightened Kara shouted, "What's happening?"

Chloe didn't answer, appearing pleased with the results but unsure if her words had the effect she'd wanted. Eve sensed power and frowned, the energy she had felt only once before crackling to life and tingling over her skin.

The ground was shaking beneath her feet, and Kara turned to Eve. Her face was white, eyes wide with fear, and something in Eve snapped at the sight of it.

"Eve! Help me!"

She started forward but was too late. Kara rose off the ground on a column of white light, memories and powers restored. Kara's glow was brighter than Clark's, as if her powers were greater.

Chloe's mind was a chorus of relief and happiness. Kara's amnesia had been hard on Clark and Lana, and now that she had her memories back she could save him. Chloe dashed forward to help Kara to her feet.

Somehow Eve kept from falling to her knees in despair, but it still took Aoife too much effort to break her concentration and remind her of the danger to them both.

Kara turned to the shorter blonde, asking, "Chloe, why are we in the Fortress?"

"We have to save Clark," she began, looking around for the brunette. The cavern was empty. Eve had vanished.

Eve tore down the road, allowing Aoife to guide her path. Tears blurred her vision and she hated herself for being weak, but she didn't know why she was crying. Why was she so upset about this? She hadn't known Kara long enough to form a strong bond. She had known from day one that getting Kara's memories back was the endgame, had actively worked toward this goal, but now her Kara was gone. In her place was a total stranger, one whose loyalty to Clark was as unshakable as the rest of his inner circle. Kara's powers gave her an advantage, one Eve was unwilling to test unless she somehow leveled the playing field.

_Madelyn. Brianna. Welcome to the twenty-first century._

She was getting closer.

_Ah the woods of France. I'd know them anywhere._

_We're in Kansas Madelyn._

She didn't need Aoife's help now; she could _feel_ the malice, the bizarre power that was familiar and yet foreign to Eve, like a tongue she'd forgotten.

_I am unsure as to why I was resurrected here, it was not my intention but-_

_The book! Do you have it?_

Eve burst through trees that were taller now, aware of Aoife stirring in the back of her mind.

This was where Isobel brought her two companions back from the dead, companions that had realized the fabled Stones of Power were bad news. Isobel was able to sway them back to her side with little effort.

Though time was of the essence, Eve had grown accustomed to the pendant's weight and was hesitant to remove it. Aoife convinced her otherwise. With great reluctance, Eve laid the pendant on the ground, a symbol flashing then fading. Twice more she did as Aoife instructed, a symbol flashing each time. The witch absorbed the power with a sense of distaste, apparently averse to some aspect of it that Eve couldn't detect.

When there was no more power to imbibe, the pendant took on an eerie shine, light playing on the facets of the sapphire. Eve could sense the witch gathering thoughts, reorganizing memories, rewiring her mind to function properly.

_Well . . . that was thoroughly unpleasant._

_My condolences._

_Thank you. I assume that, given your ownership of my pendant, that my mother's last wish was carried out? That after however long I have a daughter?_

Part of Eve raged at the thought of someone else calling her daughter. Aoife corrected herself, _Granddaughter then?_

Rage cooling, Eve replied, _Yes._

_Wonderful. Who are you?_

_Eve. _And the images poured across the link between them, memories of her ancestors, her kin. Aoife understood, _The last of your kind, the closest to a pure Ori that can ever be. The youngest of my bloodline. My mother would have loved you, and cousin Máire too. The resemblance between you is uncanny._ _I think between the three of us my father would have jumped off the nearest cliff._

_I think he would have been pushed._

This pleased Aoife somewhat, though she did reply, _You have the ability to create mayhem and sow chaos wherever you roam. Yet, you aren't quite mad enough to carry it out._

Eve didn't respond to that.

_You don't, you don't have magic do you?_

_No._

_I thought as much._ Aoife sighed. _I'm, impressed with your powers._

_You are?_ Eve asked in genuine surprise, one eye on the sky as she headed back to the motel.

_Of course! I can imitate some of these with magic so I doubt I can teach you much – _

_Show me your fire._

To her left was a flicker of light that burst into an apple-sized fireball. A, purple, fireball.

_Oops. One moment._

The fire turned green.

_That's not right._

_Now_ it looked normal.

_I've been out of practice for too long. What year is it?_

_The year is two-thousand and seven._

_I've been dead four-hundred years._

Eve remained silent as the lights of Smallville became visible, allowing the witch to ruminate.

_Well I'm at a loss descendant mine_, she began, _I'd hoped to have a daughter of my own to teach magic, but it's been four centuries and you have none to speak of._

_Perhaps you can protect me._

Aoife's mind slid to a halt, _Protect you? You don't need to be protected. The ritual will keep you safe._

_Ritual?_ Eve paused just inside the motel, trying to sense the familiar-foreign power on her person. _What ritual?_

_The ritual I bound to my first and only child, a son I bore to an Englishman that my father married me off to. "Its purpose was to keep the subject alive until certain criteria are met. In this case my son having a child of his own. The ritual would abandon the father and bind to the child at birth. If it was a son the cycle would repeat itself. If it was a daughter, it would ensure she was happy and healthy and powerful, for as long as she wished. It should, in theory, keep you safe from anything the world can throw at you._

_What if the threat originated from beyond this world?_

Aoife swore.

**Two chapters in one day and I fought with them both. Here's hoping chapter 3 comes easier.**


	3. Chapter 3

SG-1 was currently in a Skype conference with Jack and Landry. They informed the generals that progress was difficult. The town's residents were unwilling to discuss anything about "those freaks", and seemed all too willing to act like nothing was wrong.

Meteor-infected havoc, once a weekly event, had long since dwindled down to almost nothing. It was a stark contrast to the rest of the galaxy, where various alien overlords constantly battled for power. Whatever meteor infected persons hadn't been locked up or killed somehow clung to their common sense and fled underground.

"If it's a true infection, then there is an agent in the infected's body that's causing both their abilities and eventual psychosis to manifest." Sam was saying to an interested Landry and a bored Jack. "If the mutagenic agent behaves like a regular pathogen it may be possible to create a treatment for it, something to, lessen the effects of the meteor or at least make those effects manageable."

"Great!" Jack exclaimed, "And where do you plan on finding your guinea pigs?"

"There are a couple places nearby." Cam replied, "One is a government-run mental hospital that doubles as a prison for meteor infected people. The other is a nonprofit civilian-run foundation called Isis. Daniel and Vala checked it out yesterday and accidently outed Eve's telepathy."

Vala smiled nervously, "We were overheard by the owner."

"Unfortunately our way in depends on Eve's cooperation," Sam continued, "And Eve's opinion of our secrecy is clear: lying by omission is still lying, regardless of reason or justification. She's likely to refuse helping us on those grounds."

"Kid sticks to her guns." Jack commented.

"Kid's twenty now Jack."

"When did _that_ happen?"

"Sometime between the night we got here and the next morning. Still not sure why either."

"Maybe the metahumans did it?"

"I'm sorry, the what?" Landry asked suddenly.

"Eve's term for the infected." Daniel replied, "Meta is Greek for change, and the infected _are_ changed."

A door slamming startled them, but when nothing else happened they returned to their conference call.

"The plan is to involve both facilities if possible," Sam began. "We'll need blood samples from each metahuman in order to develop a treatment plan for each one. It _might_ be possible to create a vaccine against the infection, a vaccine that could limit the spread of mutation in the case of another meteor shower."

Teal'c added his two cents, "If we proceed with this course of action, then we must accept every metahuman regardless of their past. We cannot afford to antagonize them."

The Jaffa's words were sobering in that the team hadn't yet considered the legal ramifications of their plan. Belle Reve's inmates were supposed to be contained, but other metahumans could come to Isis from anywhere, and given the inmates' track records it was likely the clientele of Isis had broken laws before. It was a glaring problem that needed attention before they proceeded, and the team agreed to check in with the generals the following day to finalize their plan.

* * *

><p>Aoife hadn't said anything since discovering her protective spell had failed. Eve sensed the witch's silent fuming, albeit distantly, as if from great distance or behind imperfect mental walls.<p>

Growling at her, Aoife continued to stew in puzzled rage.

Eve ignored the angry witch and didn't stop moving until she'd flown into the room and slammed the door behind her.

Of Kara's powers she knew little, save that, like Clark, her body could heal rapidly. Of her moral code she knew nothing. She was falling back on a predator-prey mentality, hoping that being surrounded by people would be a deterrent if Kara, or anyone else, decided to come after her.

Of course she was sweaty, dusty, and needed a bath. Yes, a bath. She'd need to soak in hot water for a while before really relaxing.

* * *

><p>When Vala entered the room, she found Eve already in bed. Normally she would have let this go; Eve was an adult, she didn't need anyone to tell her what to do anymore. But something stopped Vala from simply leaving the room in search of something else to do, like annoy Daniel until the wee hours of the morning.<p>

Though she'd only felt it once, the feeling was disturbingly familiar: the knowledge that something was wrong with someone Vala cared for, and the need to somehow react to it.

Shaking her head, the former thief gave Eve a slow once over. Outwardly there was nothing wrong. The back of Eve's head looked fine. Her hair was healthy and clean. There was no obvious sign of illness or injury. Okay that didn't mean everything was fine, but Eve actively resisted attempts to gauge how she was feeling. About anything. Which just made Vala's job harder.

"Eve? Are you alright?"

Eve snorted derisively, which should have been a good sign, but her reply was in the uncommon and thus alarming wavering voice that suggested she was close to crying, "Kara remembers. But she has forgotten me."

* * *

><p>"Kara doesn't remember Eve?" Cam murmured in disbelief.<p>

"That can't be right." Vala said, pacing by the television, "I remembered the diner when I got my memories back. I remembered the nice policeman, I remembered the Trust, beating up the Trust, making them crash their car-"

Daniel cut her off, "But that might have been because you're an alien. Human yes," he added at her attempt to protest, "But a human alien. It's more than likely that whatever memories Kara made during her amnesiac state were lost when that state was reversed. Which seems weird, actually, it should take more effort than that . . ."

"So she's missing a couple of months, but she remembers everything else? Seems unfair."

"How's Eve taking it?" Daniel asked.

"Not well. She may not show it, but she's really hurting Daniel. It's only the second close relationship she's ever had, and it didn't last a week."

The part of Daniel's mind that liked to remind him of his past failures was all too glad to resurrect itself, as he remembered how isolated Eve had been growing up and how attached she would be to anyone lucky enough to earn a place in her heart. Part of him wondered if Eve would just harden her heart against emotion, so she would never feel that kind of pain again. He hoped not. A heart of stone meant zero empathy, and zero empathy combined with Eve's powers and multiple grudges . . .

"What should I do?"

"Perhaps letting her know that you are here if she needs you DanielJackson. Eve knows that friendships fall apart, for she has seen it occur before. There is little else you can say that will not anger her."

Let her deal with it unless or until she came to him? Daniel withheld the scoff that threated to escape, almost certain Eve wouldn't seek his help on this one.

"Thanks Teal'c. I'll just," he trailed off, jerked his thumb toward the door and decided to at least try and comfort Eve.

The rest of the team could hear him speaking, "Wanna talk about it?"

"No." was Eve's curt reply.

"You sure?"

Eve's expression must have been answer enough, to which Daniel replied, "Okay. You know where to find me if you do need-"

"GET OUT!"

Daniel skidded to a halt just inside the men's room.

"That went well."

"Oh yeah, real well. Just like every other time I've tried to be a parent. You know sometimes I think her memories are raising her more than I am?"

"Makes sense, she feels closer to the Ori than she does to humans." Sam replied.

"Poor Eve." Vala murmured.

"Poor us." Cam replied. "Think she'll use us as punching bags?"

"Can she throw a decent punch?" Sam asked.

"Yes." Teal'c replied.

"You're the expert Teal'c." Cam acknowledged with a nod.

Teal'c smiled. He had fond memories of training Eve.

* * *

><p>Vala shot down the suggestion of getting Eve a cell phone in favor of going to a bookstore, effectively stranding the team in Metropolis for most of the day.<p>

In this the team could see Daniel in Eve, but were surprised to hear that Adria was an avid reader as well.

"Toward the end of the crusade, Adria would enter a village and look through their libraries. If she liked what she saw then she forbade their destruction. So long as she got a copy of everything to send back to Celestis she was happy."

"But she had to read them all first right?" Cam asked, not entirely in jest.

"Of course!" Daniel replied, almost offended.

As Eve vanished into the shelves, Vala close by to pull her out of a literary rabbit hole, Cam pulled Sam aside and murmured, "We're not that far from Isis."

"I know, but there are six of us and one RV. Plus Eve's upset and that usually means all hands on deck."

"What should we do then?"

"Well Daniel and Vala already scoped the place out. If Belle Reve doesn't work out, then Isis is our backup plan. We need to show willing metahumans that we only want to help them."

"Which means making nice with them?"

"Not just them," Sam replied, watching Teal'c follow Daniel into the philosophy section. "We need to talk to Miss Lang, convince her we mean well. Hopefully she'll discuss a partnership with her staff."

"If she doesn't?"

"Then we'll proceed with the inmates at Belle Reve. If the treatment is successful then we'll go back to Isis and try again."

Daniel's exasperated "Oh no" caught the pair's attention. Confused, they followed the voice to see what was going on.

* * *

><p>Eve's conquests included four books large enough to qualify as doorstoppers. If nothing else, Daniel hoped the four largest would keep Eve busy for the rest of their stay in Smallville. Knowing Eve as he did though, she'd devour them by the weekend.<p>

"The print is so tiny though!" Vala protested.

"Hasn't stopped her before."

Eve said nothing, Game of Thrones balanced in one hand and a shopping bag in the other.

A few blocks away, Chloe joined Lana at Isis to ready damage control.

"How's Kara?"

"She was a little confused this morning," Lana replied, booting up the computer, "It took her a minute to remember where she was, who Clark was, and what was going on, but she was able to help out with the farm chores and she can use all of her powers correctly."

"You don't sound very sure."

"She keeps looking to her left or right, like she's expecting to see someone there. Or she'll say something and pause, like she's waiting for an answer."

"So Kara knows something's missing but doesn't know what? Did you tell her about Eve?"

"No, and I don't plan to without more information."

Chloe glanced at the host of monitors, each one displaying a different screen. Hospitals, doctors' offices, dentists, schools, even one or two church websites faced the room. Lana seemed intent on pinning Eve down.

"Eve hasn't told anyone."

"How do we know?"

"The Department of Domestic Security kidnapped and tortured Kara when they found out about her. If Eve had told someone about the Fortress, wouldn't the DDS or the military have shown up by now?"

The brunette appeared to consider the question. Unless they were being shadowed by armed government agents lying in wait to take them all into custody, then maybe Eve hadn't told anyone after all. Which begged the question: why? Wouldn't most people tell someone about the clearly alien structure they'd seen? Was there something Eve wanted in return for her silence?

"I just want to know more about Eve before confronting her." Lana explained with a sigh, "We can't wait for this to resolve itself."

"What do we know so far?"

"Not much." Lana admitted. "Without a last name, a parent's name or even the name of a school, I don't have anything to go on. There are dozens of Eves in Metropolis, she might be here under a false name or staying with somebody else."

"I've already checked Luthorcorp databases and Eve's not in any of them, false name or otherwise. Maybe she's here on vacation."

Lana didn't want to believe it could be that simple, that someone could see Clark's powers or the Fortress and decide not to share stories about it. After what she'd seen, it was hard to believe people were capable of keeping a secret out of the goodness of their hearts. There _had_ to be something Eve wanted in return, something else to hold over them besides Clark's secret.

Chloe prepared to take over the search, noting that if Eve was homeschooled then somebody somewhere knew about it. But even she had to admit how little they had to work with. There were a few Eves on various hotel registrations in Metropolis, but none on the motel in town, where Eve was most likely to be staying based on how quickly she moved between Smallville and the Kent farm.

"She mentioned having family here?"

"She did but wouldn't say who."

"Of course she didn't." Chloe sighed. In Eve's defense, she'd been in a stranger's house at the time. Then a thought occurred to Chloe. If Eve was in Smallville for genealogical purposes, would she have gone to the library?

At the same time Lana recalled something a telepath's grandmother had said during their meeting: _"Eve carried that grudge with her for years. Never used it as a weapon, not that I know of."_

"Chloe?"

"Hmm?"

"What are the odds of having two Eves in Smallville at the same time?"

The clicking of the keyboard stopped, "I'd say not in your favor. Why?"

"Two days ago a man and a woman came in to consult me about one of their relatives, an infected named Eve. Her meteor power is telepathy."

Chloe half turned to see Lana better, "Telepathy? I thought Kara's Eve could only channel intense heat."

"That's what I thought too. But when she had breakfast with us the next morning I asked her if in her research she'd read about the meteor showers. She said she had, then asked if I was accusing her of something. Her eyes flashed before I said anything and she didn't say another word until Kara came back downstairs. If she hadn't read my mind, why else would she have reacted that way?"

Chloe frowned.

"The way Daniel and Vala talked, Eve grew up in an isolated environment with little contact with the outside world. She never had friends, blamed Daniel for her mother's death, and in Vala's words, she hated them all." Lana continued.

"What was Daniel's last name?" Chloe asked, fingers at the ready.

"Jackson."

Chloe worked her magic, discovering a link between Daniel and Lana through their grandmothers.

"Lana, meet your Great Aunt Edith." Chloe announced. Lana stood at her side to look at the picture of her great aunt while Chloe continued, "Sister of Dexter and Miriam McCallum, married archeologist Nicholas Ballard, had a daughter named Claire, also an archeologist, who went on to marry Melburn Jackson, an archeologist, and they had a son named Daniel who is, big shock, an archeologist."

"Odd family tradition." Lana commented.

"Makes you wonder if genealogy is a rite of passage doesn't it?"

"Kinda. Think she's been to the library yet?"

"Not sure. We can check if we ever get done here."

And Chloe meant the "if we ever" part, as Eve's records were either nonexistent or well hidden. So she returned to Daniel's records in hopes of finding something useful . . . only to hit another wall. There was no record of Daniel getting married, or a custody agreement. Of Eve's mother there was nothing at all. It was like Daniel spent a few passionate nights with a woman who fell from the sky and left the same way. Unless Eve wasn't Daniel's biological child, which raised a host of other questions.

Lana could follow Chloe's thought process by watching the monitors. With practiced ease she transferred her thoughts to the keyboard and thence to the host of screens. It was quickly discovered that Eve wasn't kidnapped, abandoned or adopted, that Daniel was in London the month of the first meteor shower, and that Daniel dropped off the grid in the mid Nineties after apparently being driven from academia for his controversial pyramid theories. He was only rarely seen in public since. Privately, Lana thought if meteor rocks could grant superhuman powers, then human monuments being used as alien landing pads wasn't that far of a stretch.

Chloe frowned at the screens. Why would the Air Force need an archeologist/linguist, particularly one they hadn't personally selected and trained? What was it about Daniel that made him valuable to them? And why this particular base? What was so special about the Cheyenne Mountain Complex?

It was built deep enough inside a mountain to withstand a nuclear blast, and once housed NORAD, but it was still a very active base. Its current focus was Deep-space Radar Telemetry, an obscure branch of science Chloe only skimmed before moving on.

Hacking this would take time, patience, and the greatest of care. Seriously, their computer system's firewalls easily ranked in the top 5 she'd ever encountered.

Lana decided to grab lunch for both of them.

* * *

><p>Aoife was chasing her thoughts in circles again, certain she was missing an obvious solution. Not with the ritual, she'd solved that one (damn Isobel). No she was trying to solve a deceptively simple puzzle.<p>

She had to get out of this pendant. Using magic as a link to the outside world was only fun for the first decade or so, but after that point even she knew she'd gone spare.

The problem lay in two rules that came together like a knot in a string: it was forbidden to possess the living and it was likewise forbidden to possess the dead. To Aoife's knowledge there was no middle ground. You were alive or you were dead. This pretty much bound her to the sapphire until she left it voluntarily or was somehow destroyed.

It was her descendant, irritated at being pulled from her reading, who came up with the solution.

_It is possible to keep the body alive without a spirit to inhabit it._

Aoife recoiled in horrified disgust. Such a creature would be an abomination! No living being should be without a spirit!

_So find a comatose creature and inhabit it!_

The witch, filled with indignation, fled the pendant in search of the first living-but-spirit-void body she came across.

Grateful for the silence, Eve huffed and returned to her book, _"My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind . . . And a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge."_

* * *

><p>Lana's attempt to deliver lunch was delayed by two air force colonels asking if she had a few minutes. She was able to hold them off long enough to text Chloe and warn her that company was coming before leading the pair to her office. Chloe placed the computer system in sleep mode and remained as silent as possible, wondering if the two colonels were here by accident or if her hacking had been discovered. At least she'd made it through three levels of firewalls before getting Lana's text.<p>

After introductions were out of the way, Lana sat at her desk with a legal pad at the ready.

The colonels, Samantha Carter and Cameron Mitchell, said they were from a base called Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado, and they were interested in her vision for meteor infected people. The pair had clearly done their homework, saying they had researched her facility and thought it showed promise.

"The Isis Foundation is non-profit though, right?" Colonel Carter inquired, shuffling some papers in her lap.

"It is." Lana confirmed.

"So your whole operation depends on how charitable people are feeling toward you clientele." Colonel Mitchell said, crossing his arms. "Sounds like it may get tough to keep the doors open."

Lana gave them a painful smile. Ten million dollars was a lot of money, but between the sheer number of potential meteor powers, the socioeconomic status of the infected, and how weak their grip on sanity was, her current budget wouldn't last forever. No matter what sacrifices she made, no matter how thin she stretched the money, one day it would run out, and she _would_ need to rely on how charitable people were feeling toward her clients on any given day.

"It's true we'll need to rely on charity, sooner rather than later, but I feel confident that once people see the foundation's success, they'll be more willing to donate."

"In the meantime, we might be able to help." Sam said, surprised at how quickly Miss Lang tensed up.

"What sort of help are you offering?"

Glad it wasn't a flat no, Sam gave a basic outline of their plan so far, "We noticed that while counseling and rehoming is provided, you don't offer a health care plan. The only medications you can give them are generic brands."

This time Lana winced. With no way of knowing how certain medicines interacted with the infected, even taking something as innocuous as a painkiller was like playing Russian roulette.

"We understand how difficult it is to help someone when you don't know of their underlying genetic state." Sam continued, "We would supply trained doctors to administer to all patients, doctors that would remain on the base's payroll so as not to tax the foundation's budget, and in return we would require a blood sample from every metahuman seeking help."

Lana blinked, "Metahuman?"

"A more scientific term for the infected. It was coined by the daughter of a friend of mine."

"And the blood sample?"

"Would provide a DNA sample. It may be possible to isolate the infectious agent and create an individualized treatment plan for your clients. While a cure probably isn't on the table yet, symptom management is more likely."

Lana was cautiously hopeful now. The generous offer was beyond anything she had expected. A treatment plan catered to specific metahumans was brilliant, and each of the infected would receive the treatment they needed.

"Your doctors would be on your payroll?" she inquired, waiting for confirmation before going on, "Would they answer to me or to their superior officer?"

Exchanging a loaded glance with Sam, Cam took the helm this time, "They would answer to you unless one of your patients was a clear threat to themselves or others, in which case they would answer to their superior officer."

"Sounds fair." Lana agreed, "Could I have a few days to think about it and discuss it with my staff?" _And my friends? _She added in her mind.

"Of course." Colonel Carter replied with a nod. "Here's a preliminary copy of the contract. It goes into more detail about the arrangement. Feel free to look it over and make whatever changes you believe are necessary, and we'll call again in a couple of days."

"Thank you."

Once the colonels had left, Chloe's sneeze alerted Lana to her presence.

"Guess you heard all that?"

"I certainly did." The blonde replied, reaching for the tissue box on Lana's desk, "Is that food I smell?"

Lana nodded.

"Great. I'm starving."

* * *

><p>Once the blonde had finished the sandwich, Lana asked, "Cheyenne Mountain or Stargate Command?"<p>

"Cheyenne Mountain houses Stargate Command," Chloe replied, drinking straw halfway to her mouth.

"Okay. The offer of the colonels from Cheyenne Mountain, or whatever you found about Eve?"

Though Chloe eyed the computer complex as one would a live bomb, she didn't answer right away. Something wasn't making sense. Stargate Command was housed in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, and she had passed a file labeled Col. Carter, Samantha, in her search for Daniel's. Did they know each other? Did they work together, or just report to the same area for work every morning?

Rushing back to the computer, Chloe asked, "What was the other guy's name again?"

"Cameron Mitchell."

"Two rooms in Smallville's motel are reserved under his name. The check-in date was two days before Eve met Kara. Check-out's in about ten."

"You think they're here together." Lana stated. It made a bit too much sense not to be the case.

"I do." Chloe replied, displaying Eve's medical file on the primary screen, "But I don't think she has anything to do with it."

"Then why did she come?"

"Maybe she really does want to meet her relatives. Maybe she wanted to get off the base. Or maybe she just invited herself along. That said," she paused, eying the image of a much younger dark haired girl, "She could still be very dangerous."

Lana's face paled further and further as Chloe read from a list of incidents that triggered an ability and a rapid growth spurt. Telepathy active upon arrival, age two, physical age four. Telekinesis, age six. Genetic memory, see above. Pyrokinesis, age eight. From there, by some cruel twist of fate, it only got worse.

Lana's face drained of what little blood was left when Chloe read the next two entries, "Tortured last Ba'al symbiote to death at age twelve. As Ba'al was already dying, and Eve's presence was required so she might have some measure of closure with regards to her mother's death, her actions were allowed to slide. When asked about it later however, Eve claimed not to recall anything about the incident. Encountered Wraith in Atlantis. Burned its hands so badly it starved to death. Returned to Earth sixteen. Did not remember incident later."

Eve had killed.

The logical part of Lana's brain was quick to point out that any infected's power could be used to cause harm, that some of her own clients had probably done worse, and that some of those clients only lashed out because they lacked control. Eve was young when she had killed the Wraith, and younger still when she'd killed the symbiote, so it was more than possible Eve hadn't meant to kill. Perhaps she'd just been caught up in the emotions of the moment and lost control of her young powers. Maybe she'd been inundated by the thoughts other people had about the symbiote and Wraith.

"The Wraith tried to kill her first," Chloe said, startling Lana. "Wraith feed on the life force of humans or humanoid beings through an organ on their right hands. The Wraith probably thought Eve was a soft target because of her age."

"To its detriment I'm sure." The brunette replied, thinking of her brunette cousin. That someone so powerful, so alien, had come to Smallville, had befriended Kara, had kept Kara safe, should have been a blessing. And it wasn't like Eve didn't understand the value of secrecy; she lived on a base that technically didn't exist. Lana just felt uneasy about letting someone who wasn't a close friend possess knowledge of Clark's secret.

That said, Eve could be a great ally. She was in a position of some power, could use her telepathy to erase memories or alter perceptions. Eve could singlehandedly be their greatest ally. She could also be their greatest enemy, depending on how they responded to her.

"What now?"

"Let her keep the secret." Chloe replied firmly.

"Are we sure we want Eve to know?" Lana inquired, the selfish part of her rearing up again.

"I don't think we have a choice here Lana. Eve's too well protected and too powerful to try and kill, we can't blackmail her, and if we try something like memory manipulation then not only will we have to worry about Eve retaliating, we'll have to worry about the Air Force too. They will take action, if only because the existence of something strong enough to hurt Eve is something too strong to be left alive."

Lana swallowed thickly. She'd thought so. Perhaps they could provide some sort of incentive, a favorable reason for one already strangled by secrecy to keep one more secret.

Sighing, she turned to the contract on her desk. She needed to read it, needed to show it to her friends and then to her staff, make some changes before presenting a finalized copy to the pair of Colonels.

But the situation with Eve required more attention and more delicacy than the contract would, and so the document was forgotten.

* * *

><p>Eve sat with her back against a tree. She could feel it against her, healthy and alive, as she mentally reviewed Aoife's memories concerning magic. Though she had none to speak of, that didn't mean Aoife's lessons were completely useless. The overlap between them strengthened her theory that those called witches weren't using magic, but instead near-Ascended powers.<p>

The thought of channeling some arcane energy and bending it to mortal will was something she struggled to comprehend, never mind accept. But even she was forced to admit there were some things she'd seen her ancestors do with magic that Eve's own powers could not replicate.

Magic lessons were enough to distract her from the inevitable confrontation she would most certainly have with a handful of people from Smallville. Sensing the life around you and immersing yourself in its simplicity was glorious compared to contemplating bloodshed and murder.

No it was better to simply be at one with the world, to sense the lives of birds and mice and insects and wildflowers and Chloe and Lana and Eve's peace was replaced with a rising flood of anger and sadness and pity and a thirst for blood.

Game of Thrones lay open on her lap, her head bowed as if reading intently, which would benefit her some. The two humans, aware of her powers, wouldn't be bold enough to sneak up on her, and would be forced to wait until she gave the appearance of paying attention before speaking.

It was pure luck that they'd crossed paths. Clark's telescope had been very useful today.

"Hi Eve." Chloe greeted just loudly enough to be heard.

Eve nodded curtly, turning a page just to keep them waiting. Only when she finished the chapter and slid the book back into her bag, a full ten minutes later, did she cross her arms and wait for the pair to get on with it.

"How are you?" Lana asked.

Eve stared at her like it was the most asinine question she'd ever heard. Lana's smile dimmed considerably.

"We'd like to talk to you, if that's okay."

Eve's glare was maleficent, "Unless you have gone to Kara on bended knee and begged her forgiveness for what you did and did not do, then we have nothing to discuss."

Lana's mind was doing its air raid siren impression again, rapid snippets of thought and memory roughly translating as _Lex dangerous, kept Kara safe, did nothing wrong!_

Chloe glanced between the pair, noticed Lana's defiance clashing with Eve's growing anger. She knew neither would back down, just as she knew both could justify their actions. Hoping to head off the imminent explosion, Chloe nudged Lana and flicked her eyes toward the car. Lana shook her head, glancing at Eve's darkening expression and the way the air shimmered around her.

A single tongue of pale blue flame leapt to life in Eve's fingers. Lana watched with horrified eyes as it slowly took the shape of a dagger, a rapier, a broadsword, and fled for the relative safety of the car.

Eve observed her creation with a critical eye, frowning as though disappointed with it. There was a quick spark in her eyes, and she allowed the fire to go out.

"Chloe Sullivan." Eve said, looking her up and down, "No rest for the weary I see."

"Um, not really?" Chloe replied, scratching the back of her head. Awareness that Eve was more than human, that she embraced this fact instead of rejecting it, left the blonde in a bind. She also knew that Eve was a second-generation hybrid, that she should be more human, not less. So in theory Eve should embrace human contact, be social not solitary. In reality, Eve had an arsenal of dangerous powers and a radically different mindset. She was warm with Kara, even affectionate, which was a redeeming quality in Chloe's book. But she was cold and standoffish with everyone else, something Chloe could forgive considering her friendless and potentially loveless background.

"That sword was impressive. How did you do that?" Chloe asked.

Eve ignored both praise and query, "Sit or stand as you will. I care not how much or how little pain you cause yourself either way."

Chloe made herself comfortable on the brittle grass and hard ground, the air crackling with static.

Eve raised an eyebrow at the short blonde human and waited for her to begin. Chloe would not check her thoughts, words or actions for fear of Eve lashing out and killing her. Chloe did not fear her. Yet. A situation she could remedy, should the need arise. But the human could be useful to her.

The blonde opened and closed her mouth twice before asking, "Really though, how are you feeling?"

Finding herself the recipient of Eve's did-you-really-just-ask-me-that look, Chloe cast around for something else to say.

"I'm gonna guess that you're upset and angry and maybe you want to hurt people."

"How very astute of you." She replied, before silence set in once more.

Apparently Chloe was going to do most of the talking here. That was fine by her. Words were a journalist's lifeline. She could come up with a dozen ways to say what she wanted to say

But Chloe knew words wouldn't cut it with a telepath. The brunette wouldn't be appeased by an apology, no matter how heartfelt, because whatever Chloe said would be meaningless to Eve. Thoughts however, would carry more weight, as they were harder to censor and thus more likely to be honest.

Eve looked vaguely impressed, "Good, you're not as blind as I thought."

"How blind did you think I was?"

"Enough that you didn't care how much you wronged Kara."

Chloe frowned, "I know."

"Do you? Do you really?"

Chloe heard the undercurrent of malice in Eve's tone and proceeded with caution.

"No I don't. I know she was hurt by our-"

Eve's glare intensified and forced Chloe to backtrack, "My silence, and complete lack of help, but I couldn't be there for her twenty-four/seven. I have a job, I have bills to pay, I have an apartment to maintain. It doesn't make up for what I did or didn't do, but-" And here she paused, unsure how to continue. She couldn't say it wasn't her business, because she'd made Clark and everything to do with him her business years ago. She couldn't say she was respecting Kara's privacy; the Kryptonian had wanted her help, had asked her several times to tell her what was going on and been turned down.

"You know what? Why don't you just read my mind?"

"No." Eve replied, her voice as unforgiving as the edge of a blade.

"Why not?" Chloe asked, trying to be reasonable, "I know what I'm trying to say, I just don't know how to word it."

"Because I want you to say it." She sat up straighter and continued in that same cold tone, "I want you to work everything out until you see the conclusion I see. And I want to watch your face as you reach that conclusion, to judge for myself how good a friend you are."

Chloe shivered at the intensity in Eve's eyes.

Her refusal to tear into Chloe's mind was surprising, she'd thought the brunette would leap at the chance to invade Chloe's inner thoughts and plunder them for answers. Eve's strategy then was to force Chloe to discover something about herself, something Eve had already seen but would not tell her. In a way it was clever. By making her figure it out on her own, Chloe would have to, on some level, accept whatever she concluded, whereas she would reject the same conclusion coming from Eve because, well Eve wasn't her. Eve didn't know Chloe, telepathy or not.

So the blonde leaned back, supporting herself on her hands, and thought. When Clark lost his memory, Chloe had done everything in her power to help him. She'd given him enough information to navigate his surroundings as if nothing was wrong, and since they were both in high school, she'd had time to hang around and offer her help. When Kara had lost her memory, Chloe had stepped back. She'd justified her choice by reminding herself that she had a job she was fighting to keep, a boyfriend she was trying to soften the opinions of, an apartment that she had to pay bills on, and she trusted Clark and Lana to look after Kara. Chloe thought that they'd tell her everything she needed to know so she could function until she got her memory back. That clearly hadn't happened, and while Chloe could understand the reasoning behind the secrecy, she didn't like it. It was, as Eve had most likely concluded, a self-fulfilling prophecy. Information was withheld from Kara, who went to Lex for help, which justified withholding the truth.

But Chloe knew that, so what was Eve waiting for her to realize? That she was a bad friend for not helping Kara as much as she'd helped Clark? That if she was a good friend she would have called in sick to help Kara? That she should have told the Kryptonian the truth from the very beginning? Sure they were all valid points, but what did Eve want her to do about them? Kara's amnesia had been reversed, her powers were restored, so everything was okay right?

"If you're waiting for the ground to swallow me up, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed." Chloe sighed, chancing a look at Eve. Her face was a blank as a sheer cliff.

"Could I have handled it better? Yes. Could I have done more? Yes. Do I feel bad about the way it turned out? I do. But what do you want me to do about it now?"

Eve raised an eyebrow.

Chloe wanted to groan, but she didn't. What did Eve want her to do?

"_Unless you have gone to Kara on bended knee and begged her forgiveness for what you did and did not do, then we have nothing to discuss."_

She _hadn't_ apologized to Kara yet.

"You're right." Chloe admitted, "I'll just drive back to the farm and apologize to Kara."

As she started to walk back to the car, something grabbed her ankle and sent her face first into the ground.

"That's not all you have to apologize for."

* * *

><p>When Eve walked in later, a small smile on her face, Vala knew she'd had a much better day.<p>

"Ruin someone?"

"No Grandmother. Merely showed them the error of their ways."

Vala paused just long enough to consider just what Eve was talking about before blurting, "You let somebody have it."

"Indeed I did Grandmother. Indeed I did."

* * *

><p>"She wants us to do what?" Clark asked.<p>

Sighing, Chloe repeated Eve's demands, "She wants us to apologize to Kara for the way we handled her amnesia, and for 'continuously and constantly judging and condemning her for being Kryptonian'. But she doesn't want us apologizing until we're sincere about it. Then she wants us to kill both Luthors."

Clark blanched, "Kill them?"

Chloe nodded, "Eve thinks the Luthors are responsible for a lot of the bad things that have happened to us. She can't understand why nobody's tried to get rid of them permanently. Lana had her fingers around Lex's throat and didn't throw him hard enough, but Eve can kind of let that go. But you've got your powers almost all the time, and because you won't take care of Lex before he becomes a more serious problem you're just as bad as he is."

"Wait a minute Chloe," Lana announced, a cup of strong tea in one hand and a saucer in the other, "You mean we were out there for twenty minutes and didn't talk about Clark's secret at all?"

"Every time I even considered bringing it up Eve gave me this look that said she'd do significant harm to my person if I said my thoughts aloud. Sometimes I think she wanted me to bring up the secret so she could take it out on me."

"So it may be another day before we can talk to her about it?" Lana demanded, fighting to keep the rattling of the tea cup to a minimum.

Chloe started getting angry. She'd sent Lana back to the car because she had a strong feeling Eve would have killed her and enjoyed it, and Chloe's instincts were usually right.

"It could be tomorrow, or it could be next week, or it could be never. Kara's had her memory back for, not even two full days. That's not long enough for anybody to recover from."

"What are you talking about Chloe?" Clark asked in confusion, unaware of Kara listening from the barn roof.

"Eve didn't have friends growing up Clark. She had her human father, and his human friends, and his human coworkers. Kara was her first real friend, and we took that from her. We did everything but rip Eve's heart out and step on it, and you expect her to be reasonable?" Chloe snapped, but even as she spoke she knew she wouldn't get anywhere.

For whatever reason, Lana couldn't or wouldn't accept that this whole situation was bigger than her. All she wanted was for the secret to be safe, so Clark wouldn't worry and they would be happy and everything would be okay. But it wouldn't be okay. Retaliation on their part would lead to retaliation by Eve, who still held all the cards. And if Eve didn't retaliate, someone else would step in and do so on her behalf.

* * *

><p>Eve snorted from the same tree she'd leaned against all afternoon. Lana could sigh and pout and make puppy dog eyes all she wanted, but by the time they found her again it would be too late to interrogate her without awkward questions.<p>

As afternoon faded into evening, the Orici stood and stretched. It was roughly time for the evening meal. She needed to get back to the motel anyway.

A rushing sound filling the air was the only warning she had. Eve flipped over something that had almost slammed into her.

Kara was moving too quickly to compensate for Eve's sudden movement, crashing into the ground before getting up again, leaning forward and positioning her legs in a way that would allow her to dart forward or kick off the ground with ease.

There was no recognition in her eyes. Eve's Kara was gone forever, leaving a stranger in her place. Kara believed her a threat now, and seemed bent on neutralizing the threat.

Eve glared back. Fire trailed from both hands.

Kara eyed the flames warily.

"What do you want?" Eve demanded, her aggressive stance at odds with the pain in her eyes.

"You saw the Fortress."

"And?"

"I can't let you tell anyone about it."

Eve snarled, eyes aglow, and erupted.

* * *

><p>SG-1 noticed the ominous rattling and threw themselves out the window just before it got worse. But it wasn't an earthquake this time. They weren't sure what it was, but judging from the occasional flinches of Vala and Daniel, they deduced Eve was heavily involved. It was only when Daniel ducked a blow that never came and Vala let out a blood curdling scream that the others grabbed their weapons and went looking for her.<p>

* * *

><p>Kara snarled in frustration. The yellow sun made her strong, and she knew Eve had too many powers to be a meteor freak, but she hadn't given much thought to what she was actually fighting. Eve reacted quickly to Kara's every move, and could hit just as hard. Not with her fists, but with fire and telekinesis. The Kryptonian couldn't get any closer than six feet. Unable to land a blow, Kara was forced to get creative. Heat vision, arctic breath, even clapping her hands hard enough to generate shock waves, but nothing worked.<p>

For her part, Eve was determined to keep Kara both in sight and away from her, lest the blonde pull her into a crushing embrace. Spinning to create a circle of protective flames allowed her some time to get her breath back, but Kara's arctic breath was still a force to be reckoned with.

Sensing weakness, Kara pressed her advantage, arctic breath punching a hole through the fire. The fire brightened suddenly before extinguishing, leaving Kara to slide to a halt in an empty circle of ash.

Roaring her anger, Kara leapt skyward and searched the area from above. She couldn't have gone far.

Telescopic vision revealed nothing, but her X-ray vision locked on a skeleton standing not three feet from the ash circle. Aware the jig was up, Eve flooded her body with light even as fire roared through her veins.

Rendered deaf as well as blind, Kara crashed a second time, eyes watering, ears ringing, crying out in pain. Unable to see or hear her opponent, she was unprepared for the blow that sent her flying again.

Spitting dirt and grass, Kara felt Eve's approach, curling up to protect herself from the brunette's onslaught. Fire tore into her shoulder, making her screech. The sudden shrill cry forced Eve back, the few seconds needed to dispel the ringing in her ears just long enough for Kara to get on her hands and knees. She splayed her fingers and flared her nostrils, hoping to compensate for her two disabled senses.

But to knock Eve down, she needed to know where Eve was. So long as the brunette remained motionless then she was safe from Kara, but couldn't attack her without shifting her stance, causing vibrations Kara prayed her fingers could detect.

Eve swore softly. She had her opponent on the ground, with two senses disabled, and the other two unable to detect her. But she couldn't bring herself to finish her off. She saw in her helpless opponent her best friend, who snuggled into her back when they slept, who came to her for help, who _needed_ her. No one had ever needed Eve before.

That said, she wasn't going to let Kara walk all over her. The blonde was still dangerous, and the fact she had turned her head in Eve's direction meant her hearing was recovering at least. Her eyesight was slower to heal. She needed to expose her eyes to the sun or face it.

_I did more damage than I thought if the very thing that heals her causes further pain._

Kara's arctic breath shot with little warning, but several feet off target. The blast was close enough to get a startled gasp from Eve, thus drawing Kara's attention.

"Are you alright?"

Kara cocked her head, "Well I can hear again."

Eve made a noncommittal sound and glanced westward. If the sun was Kara's power source and Eve held her off until nightfall, then the blonde should weaken enough to concede defeat.

Unfortunately Kara had also turned sunward, its light healing her vision enough to see her opponent again.

Eve's telekinetic barrier stopped Kara less than a foot away. Close combat it was then.

Kara wanted an opponent who fought like she did, recklessly and with little regard for their own safety. She wanted an opponent who charged forward with no fear. What she got was a foe who shouldn't be able to bend _that_ far backwards. A single punch, that missed of course, overbalanced Kara and forced Eve's back parallel with the ground, at which point she revealed a surprise: she shot forward without falling.

So while Kara ate dirt for the third time, Eve learned how to fly. It was only when the blonde grinned at her that she decided this wasn't her best idea. Flight meant altitude, which meant more time in the sun.

She dropped as Kara flew at her.

Alarmed, Kara accelerated, hoping to catch Eve before she hit the ground. Eve let it happen, her telekinesis forcing them both out of the sky. Kara's strength was just enough to prevent that from happening.

Kara swung her head forward as if to break Eve's nose, breaking her concentration and sending both rocketing into the sky. The blond twisted and shot toward the ground, the brunette screaming in her ears.

Eve crashed first, her telekinesis reengaging long enough to knock Kara thirty feet away. She couldn't keep fighting like this.

Kara rose to her feet, glorying in the last rays of sunlight as she stalked toward Eve. The brunette had yet to move from where she'd landed. Her breathing was ragged, her color was high, and a glance with X-ray combined with microscopic vision revealed the adrenaline in Eve's blood had lessened. She'd won.

Eve managed a defiant glare at the blonde's approach, rolling her eyes at the piteous look she got in return. Kara knelt next to her, absently twirling a lock of Eve's hair.

"You fought well." She said softly, with none of the arrogance Eve expected to hear. She had no way of knowing she had earned Kara's respect.

Eve only groaned in reply. Her throat was killing her.

Pleading for mercy was not an option; if the cursed Fortress could return memories then it could take them away as well. Neither Kara nor those she knew had the spine to kill her. It was more likely they'd take her to the Fortress and have it remove what they didn't want her to know, leaving blank spots in her faultless memory that she would be compelled not only to share with SG-1, but to investigate herself.

_There is another option._ Aoife announced suddenly, earning a startled twitch from Eve that Kara mistook as being her fault.

"Sorry."

"Mmm-hmm."

Kara grimaced. It sounded like Eve was in real pain. As the blonde's unwelcome arctic breath bathed Eve's overheated skin, she flicked against Aoife's mind in what passed for a querying thought.

_Store the Fortress-memories in the sapphire. All the Fortress will delete is a copy of the memory. After they bring you back I'll restore it._

_You want me to store a single memory in your vessel?_

_I'm not even in the damn thing! And even when I was, I didn't take up that much room._ Aoife protested.

_I don't know about that._

_Without time to recover you are vulnerable. But if you can hold her off until tomorrow –_

_Tomorrow?!_

_Yes tomorrow. Hold her off until then, and things will be right between you again._

_How do you know?_

_Call it a hunch._ The witch replied evasively.

"I'm just gonna take you to the Fortress-"

Eve shivered violently and cried, "Mama!"

The sound awoke memories Kara had hoped to forget:

"_The journey takes three years!"_

"_What if I never see you again?"_

"_Everything and everyone I love is here on Krypton!"_

All plans flew out the window after that. She couldn't bring herself to hurt Eve the way she herself had been hurt. She pulled her hand back, already considering places to take Eve where she could recover without interference. Eve's smug grin was the last thing Kara saw before hitting the ground so hard she blacked out.

Roaring her victory to the open sky, Eve collapsed into a healing coma.


	4. Chapter 4

Awareness took its time returning, but the first thing the Orici knew with absolute certainty was that Aoife was near. Where exactly the witch was with respect to Eve's prone body she wasn't sure; she seemed to be everywhere.

Close on the heels of this revelation was the sensation of energy steadily trickling into her body. Aoife's magic most likely, as she could neither wield nor buffer it away. With the alternative being a three day coma, healing by magic wasn't so objectionable.

Reaching slowly for the pendant, Eve pulled it back by the jewel. The clasp was broken, a few links were missing, the sapphire was scratched, as was the disk of silver it was mounted in.

She fixed it as quickly as her injuries would allow, leaving the pendant looking like new again. The energy increased, easing her aches, repairing torn muscles, and resetting a broken bone in her leg. That last one tore a raw screech from her throat.

Eve forced herself not to black out as Aoife's magic healed her body. Only when the magic receded, roughly two hours later, did she sit up without hesitation and look around. She poured her gratitude across their shared connection and sought Kara.

Her eyes narrowed upon the apparent solivore, hovering off the ground and imbibing solar energy like the grass she floated above. It healed her wounds and gave her strength, as Aoife's magic had done for Eve.

Unlike the night before, both time and Eve's own body were against her. She'd rather recover naturally than be forcibly healed in time to fight again. Unfortunately, Kara might not give her a chance to refuse. Though murder was, as humans said, off the table, memory manipulation remained. Kara had said she was going to take Eve to the Fortress, where Jor-El would selectively wipe her memories and unknowingly start a war this world would not win. With untold numbers of lives on the line, the only satisfaction Eve would glean from lighting Earth on fire would be to tell Clark why she'd done it.

Still, Vala had once advised Eve to choose her battles, specifically those battles Eve could reasonably win. She needed time to process and then strategize, and fighting with Kara wouldn't help either endeavor.

With the blonde preoccupied, Eve rose and left on silent feet.

* * *

><p>Kara landed and began searching for Eve, sighing at the destruction they'd caused. Launching herself a few yards off the ground, she scanned the area with all her senses. None detected the brunette, which meant she was long gone, likely back to the motel in Smallville. It would be easy to meet her there, or overpower her on the way, but the more Kara thought about it the less she wanted to follow through.<p>

In three days, Eve had both done more to help her and come the closest to discovering the truth of Kara's origins with no outside interference. Had Clark not been in danger, Kara had no doubts that Eve would have gotten them to the Fortress on her own. She had taken an active role in Kara's recovery, shielded her from Lex, been the friend Kara never knew she'd wanted. And Kara had repaid that kindness with distrust, a brawl, and trying to scramble Eve's mind like an egg.

Guilt threatened to drown her. Of the billions of humans on this planet, Eve alone understood what it felt like to be the sole survivor of one's kind. She embraced what set her apart from humans. She used her powers freely and indulgently, and the humans around her, having no way to stop her, allowed it.

It wasn't acceptance but Eve didn't seem to care. Having accepted the fact humans wouldn't trust her, she demanded their respect instead. And while Kara harbored no illusions that she could carve a place for herself in Eve's heart, a prospect she snorted at, she knew the brunette could give her something Clark couldn't: companionship. The eerie similarities between them should, theoretically, draw them together, create some sort of bond that allowed them to coexist without killing one another.

She needed to find Eve, apologize, and come clean. Such was her plan until a sudden wave of nausea and agony sent her to the ground.

Eve's head snapped up, aware of the affront to the natural world and rushing back to meet it.

Kara's expression clenched as if in terrible pain, her body curling in on itself despite convulsing. Her skin was tinted green. Vision flicking to energy sight, Eve watched a sickly green fog coat and then smother Kara's normally bright yellow energy. A steadily thickening green line extended from Kara to a luminous rock, green kryptonite if she recalled Lana's panic correctly, held in the hand of a human-shaped thing. The energy within it was both stationary and mobile, flowing through the thing like blood in a human, but contained within a roughly cellular structure. This suggested the ability to reform itself if damaged or destroyed, a dangerous ability for anything to possess. Especially in an amoral machine.

"Brainiac." Kara spat.

"Fascinating isn't it?" the so-called Brainiac spoke as if Kara hadn't, "How something as innocuous as a meteor can be so harmful, would you not agree?"

Eve jumped the blonde's squirming form and planted herself between Kara and the so-called Brainiac. The pentagonal crystal from P3K-546 rocketed across the countryside before slamming to a stop at Eve's side. Aoife snarled from the sapphire and readied herself for war.

Brainiac tilted its head. A protector? How peculiar. And he couldn't find anything concerning this brunette in any human computer.

She burns. Not figuratively either, as though in anger. No her body temperature is running a consistent 110, a fever that would kill a normal human and should have killed her several times over. She watches him with unreadable eyes, which is frustrating because he has stolen enough information to be able to accurately read faces and body language.

Brainiac feigns surprise at Eve's silence, "Taciturn?"

This draws a reaction, the brunette baring her teeth in a near universally recognized back-off symbol. What he still doesn't understand is why. He had observed their battle the day before from afar, aware of the reckless abandon with which they moved; the way blows were met or dodged, the brunette edging out the blonde via deception.

He cocked his head, eyes narrowing on her protective stance, "You _care_ for the Kryptonian?"

It was the way Brainiac said it, Eve decided later, that pushed her over the edge. As if the concept of caring was a contaminant, a disease that needed to be eradicated. Eve ground the meteor into dust before stilling Brainiac with her mind, tearing him apart, and tilting her head briefly before her eyes narrowed to slits.

Kara watched in horror as Brainiac dissolved, cell by cell, until he was erased from existence.

The large crystal glowed with information stolen from Brainiac, sans Brainiac, and also without the knowledge stolen from this world. Anything she could possibly need could be obtained with the Archive, still in its bag by the splintered tree trunk. Actively anticipating the call about the crystal's sudden and violent evacuation from the building, Eve decided to keep it with her. It slid into a second pocket with ease, allowing her to turn her attention to Kara.

"Are you alright?"

Kara stood up, brushing dirt from her jeans.

"'M fine. Probably too late to claim I'm allergic to meteors right?" she replied with a nervous half-smile.

Eve answered the spirit of the question, "Much."

Quashing the first impulse to ask about the Fortress, Kara instead stated, "I have a confession to make. You probably guessed already but, I'm not from Earth."

Eve had already given Kara her full attention. She didn't interrupt, didn't look surprised or vindicated, didn't really move save for shifting the bag strap on her shoulder. Perhaps she sensed Kara's need to unburden herself, because she stood silent for more than an hour while Kara talked.

The bag found its way to the ground as sympathy found its way into Eve's heart. Their circumstances were eerily similar, but while the Tau'ri accepted her for who and what she was and where she came from, the people in Kara's life pressured her to act human, to be more sympathetic to human viewpoints, to turn her back on who she was because it made them uncomfortable.

_One more thing to blame SGC for_, she decided. Projecting sympathy and acceptance, Eve slowly moved closer until she could rest a hand on Kara's shoulder.

A complete stranger had helped her in her time of need. And she had repaid that kindness with a murder attempt. How could she hope Eve would forgive her when Kara couldn't forgive herself?

"For what little it's worth, I'm sorry. I wish I could remember you, and what you did for me. You probably saved my life-" Kara paused missing the look of alarm on Eve's face as she considered her last few words. "No, you _did_ save my life. Lex was planning to dissect my brain to find answers, and if I hadn't met you, he probably would have done it by now."

Eve cocked her head. As if she needed another reason to hate the people in Kara's life.

Only when Kara attempted to justify their actions did Eve hold up her hand.

"What was best was to take you to the Fortress immediately, regardless of Clark's personal feelings. Their actions placed you in mortal danger Kara, and I'm disturbed but not surprised that none of them feel any remorse for their lack of concern."

Kara tilted her head. That Eve spoke in something close to absolutes said something about her character. Namely, that those who had power were expected to use it for the betterment of those beneath them. It also alluded to leadership as being something Eve was accustomed to. It was not impossible that whatever Eve was, she was next in line for whatever position of power her people had. Such a viewpoint would cause a schism between her and those around her. Even Kryptonians had to bow to other Kryptonians when they could not agree. That said, it was clear that Eve was used to seeing obedience from those around her, and being frustrated when humans did not react the same way.

"Clark is the only family I have left Eve."

"But that doesn't mean you have to give him repeated chances to prove himself Kara. And it shouldn't mean you have to give up your past for the sake of his present."

"What are you talking about?"

"Krypton. You remember it, Clark doesn't, but that doesn't give him the right to demand you be human so he can keep his masquerade."

Eve hated falsehood. Kara admired that.

"Clark views his own kind with dislike and fear doesn't he? Perhaps even hatred?"

"Fear and dislike yeah, but I haven't seen any hate."

Eve crossed her arms, "Is he averse to hearing anything about his alien heritage? Everything from the fact he is an alien to what that means for him and those around him?"

Kara tensed, "Yep."

"And his friends are wary of you?"

Kara's voice wavered, "Yes."

"And they reject you for who you are, silently judging you for the same, hold Clark on a pedestal and demand you strive to be like him?"

Her answer was broken, defeated, "Yes."

Eve cocked her head. She saw grief in Kara's eyes, grief the blonde seemed determined to ignore.

"Have you mourned them yet?"

Blinking at the subject change, Kara turned to look at the brunette. She shook her head, her puzzled "No" sounding distinctly near tears.

The words were out of her mouth before she could take them back, "Would you like me to give them last rites?"

"You would do that for them?" Kara asked with shining eyes.

"I would."

* * *

><p>The Origin Crusade wasn't the Ori's first forays into warfare, religious or otherwise, so the concept of genocide wasn't unfamiliar to them. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, there wasn't a set of funerary rites specifically for genocide. Odd for a culture that had a set of funerary rites for every way a person could die, but the Ori in their infinite wisdom decided genocide would never happen on their watch.<p>

_And look what happened to them. _Eve thought irritably, following Kara toward a place that was relatively isolated.

Lack of genocide-specific rites aside, there was also the problem of applying Ori death rites to another species. Both Eve's and Kara's gods were, well, dead. Rao wasn't just the chief god of the Kryptonian pantheon, he was the star around which their world orbited. Did Rao the god still exist if Rao the star was no more?

In short, Eve wasn't entirely sure how to officiate the funeral for all of Krypton without insulting anyone involved. Despite her mind moving at near light speed, she was running out of time to figure something out. She'd have to come up with something, ignoring the little voice that said Kara would understand Eve hesitating.

"We'll need a dry place and enough wood for a bonfire."

Kara barely reacted to what Eve requested, obediently gathering logs and branches on a dry patch of earth and surrounding the wood with rocks. Eve lit the fire, waiting for the flames to reach a respectable size before beginning.

"Have you anything to say before we begin?" Eve asked gently.

Kara shook her head wildly when asked, "I can't. Eve I can't!"

Eve closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. Kara hadn't grieved for Krypton at all. Instead she had pushed the sadness, pain, anger and fear down far enough to ignore it in the name of appeasing her only surviving relative.

Clark could handle being burned alive right?

"Kara," she began, waiting for the blonde to make eye contact before she continued, "Why can't you?"

"I, I," Kara trailed off, hugged herself, her eyes rolling in her bloodless face. The Kryptonian was panicking, searching for a way to escape.

"Why can't you?" Eve repeated.

Kara whimpered and kept shaking her head. Eve's self-preservation roared at her to avoid the blonde, to give her space or let her run away. But if she ran away she'd never confront it, never heal, never move on. Pulling the frightened Kryptonian into her arms, telekinesis forming a barrier between the blonde's death grip and the brunette's skin, Eve continued in the same soft voice, telling Kara it was alright to be angry, it was alright to be upset, to be afraid, to feel lost. She stroked Kara's hair, remembering her own mother doing the same for her when she was frightened or upset. She soothed her friend, through wailing and screaming and pleading with the brunette to let her go, don't make her go through with this, before collapsing with a final gasping sob.

"It makes it real. Krypton will really be gone."

Eve nodded, having experienced something similar after burying Mother.

"I understand. But if you never face this you will never move on. Remembering the past, respecting it, this is acceptable. It is the past that helps to make us who we are. Clinging to the past, being consumed by the longing to return to that past, is not acceptable. It's unhealthy. For their sake and yours, _you must let Krypton go_."

Kara shook her head, teary eyes squeezed shut, "It'll be gone. No one will care enough to listen."

"That's not true." Eve replied, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind Kara's ear. "I want to hear about Krypton. I want to learn about what shaped Krypton, what made its people who they were. Tell me about Krypton Kara, and I will listen to everything you say."

Still sniffling, but staring at Eve with wonder, Kara nodded.

This, Eve knew as she helped Kara back to her feet, was the true power of the Ori. Knowing enough about behavior to predict and then influence a person's actions was how they convinced their children of their divinity.

"Will you be alright?"

Kara shuddered, hesitantly wiping tears from her cheeks, "No. But I have to do this."

Eve gave her a gentle smile before returning to her place before the fire.

"Flamebird, fire primordial and mother of us all, I beseech thee! Hear now the cry of your children, hear of our suffering and pain, that it may be taken from us. The souls of Krypton plead for mercy only you can grant them."

Kara whimpered again. Eve gave her a sympathetic glance.

"Help them Flamebird. Help them forgive themselves and others for the wrongs they gave and received. Help those who committed the greatest wrongs atone for what they have done, that they will be united with their loved ones once more. Help their grieving friends and allies to understand that nothing is forever, not even death."

Tears poured down Kara's cheeks now, but she didn't move to wipe them away.

"Have you anything to add?"

Startled, Kara looked up.

"Um, tell my mother and aunt I love them, and tell my father-" here she almost choked, but kept speaking anyway, "Tell my father, that I don't understand why he did what he did, but I forgive him."

"Let it be done as you have asked. Finally Flamebird I ask thee to comfort Kara, to soothe her troubled soul, her anxious heart, her haunted mind. Help her sleep without nightmares. Help her forgive herself for being too late to save her people. Help her heal, that one day she may rise with the sun and the loss she has suffered not pain her so badly, even if it takes a thousand years. This I ask in thy name."

Ori tradition now required something to be burned in the fire, representing the mourners' willingness to surrender their physical ties with the deceased so they could truly move on.

"Kara, to finish this something of Krypton needs to be burned. Not your bracelet," Eve began, noticing Kara's free hand clamp over it, "Is there anything you can think of?"

"Maybe kryptonite?"

"Maybe something less, impure."

Kara flitted away. Before Eve had time to worry that she wouldn't return, she was back with a white crystal.

"It's a piece of the Fortress. It was broken during . . . it was broken and lying on the ground so I thought, here."

The white crystal was pulverized into dust and burned.

"May the daughters and sons of Rao find peace in death that they were denied in life."

Kara clung to her as the fire burned itself out, her head on Eve's shoulder and crying silent tears. Eve's arm slowly slid up Kara's back and around her shoulders, squeezing once, then keeping a firm grip.

* * *

><p>Teal'c sliding to a halt was their first hint that something was wrong, followed immediately by the sight of what made him stop to begin with.<p>

It looked like a warzone. The earth was charred and bare, a tree trunk had been splintered, there were gouge marks in the ground, and a crater the size of a car.

The Jaffa bent and lifted something from the ground. He knew where it had come from.

"DanielJackson." He intoned, handing the archeologist a piece of Eve's favorite jacket.

Daniel took the scrap of fabric, eyes narrowing. Eve had been in a fight. A fight that required her to use her powers, which meant a powerful and dangerous opponent. And there was no sign of either.

"Daniel?" Sam asked.

Daniel wordlessly held up the piece of fabric, heard Cam's sharp intake of breath and Vala's gasp.

"We'll have to block off the area. Keep people away while we search for clues." Cam said in a low voice.

"This area is far from Smallville ColonelMitchell. It is unlikely anyone would happen upon this place intentionally."

Teal'c's words were calming. The nearest road was a ten minute walk through tall grasses, and there was little room on the road itself for a car to pull over. It would be pure luck for someone to find it, and the residents of the sleepy little town were unlikely to welcome a military presence.

"There are several sets of tracks here," Teal'c began, brow furrowing. "Eve left the area at a measured pace, as though she had nothing to fear from her opponent. Then she returned, more quickly, and leapt several yards, landing here," he pointed out where Eve had hit the ground earlier. "She was then faced with a second opponent, whose tracks end here," and he pointed to a pair of men's shoeprints in the ground.

"So she fought two people, not just one?" Cam asked, clarifying it for himself.

"It seems so." Teal'c replied, "Eve vanquished the second, for there is no sign of them leaving the area. She and her first opponent stood here for some time, then left together. Eve would never accompany someone who meant to do her harm, which means she has either coerced the other to do as she bids or they were able to reconcile."

Perhaps Eve bent or broke the mind of her aggressor. But the tracks didn't support one leading and the other following. It wasn't a case of dark messiah and devoted follower, but one of equals.

Sam picked up a handful of red thread, holding them close enough to sniff. The cotton thread smelled like fabric softener, which meant it had been washed recently. It looked like it came from a relatively nice shirt, though it could have been stolen by a metahuman as easily as it could have been purchased.

And it had to have been a metahuman. Few alien species traveled alone and Eve wouldn't resort to using her powers to their fullest extent otherwise. Okay, maybe to prove a point, but usually her reputation preceded her.

The footprints grew less distinct the further from the fight scene the team drew, but they headed more or less toward town. Hopefully they'd find Eve. Hopefully whoever she'd fought was still alive.

* * *

><p>"Not fond of red?" Kara asked, sliding a clean shirt over her head in the motel's bathroom.<p>

"I prefer blue," was the reply from the through the wall, Eve's voice muffled by a clean shirt of her own, "I could fix your red one if you want."

Kara glanced at the tee, torn and holey and the shirttail unraveling, "Nah. I'll find another one."

Eve muttered unintelligibly.

A quick glance at the room revealed another facet of Eve's personality: she didn't live superfluously. She had fifteen days' worth of clothing, four large volumes, and a tablet with her. It wasn't hard to imagine what Eve's room on the base looked like. It was probably Spartan, no art adorning the walls, no toys or books on the floor, everything in its place until she needed it.

Contrast that with Kara's room at the farm, that always looked like a bomb had gone off. She liked it messy and lived-in looking, but whenever she was gone for more than five minutes Kal cleaned it up.

She left the bathroom and sat on Eve's bed, trying in vain to think of something to say.

"Hungry?" Eve asked.

Kara blinked, "Um, not really?"

Eve cocked her head as Kara's stomach rumbled its disagreement.

"Any preferences?"

"Humans don't have anything close to Kryptonian comfort food." Kara all but snapped, the funeral pyre reminding her of everything she could no longer have.

"How do you think I feel?" Eve coolly replied, aware of Kara's wince but not calling her on it, "And if I could time travel and bring some of your favorite foods back without unintentionally altering the timeline, I would. Unfortunately this is beyond me."

"I don't care."

She tried not to react to Eve's look of hurt, but the brunette had already done more for her today than her cousin ever had . . .

"I really don't care. Feed me anything."

To which Eve replied almost literally.

As Kara ate Eve explained that her ancestor-witches moved in with the bereaved, tended their affairs, cleaned their homes, minded their beasts and crops and offered what comfort they could until the survivors recovered from grief. Clan McCorrigan marked death with mourning and remembrance in equal measure. Once the funeral was over however, the deceased was not mentioned again until Samhain, at which point they and all the dead were remembered and celebrated with bonfires and dancing and food and _far_ too much mead.

The Ori . . . the Ori burned their dead, along with their possessions, and any gifts the deceased had imparted to friends and loved ones. Eve explained this act was supposed to sever the ties between the living and the dead, allowing the living to move on. Brutally effective, but psychologically damaging, their funerary rites led to the Ori's fear of death and search for immortality, driving their quest to Ascend, and once they had, setting up a death rite for every possible death save one: genocide.

Kara supposed fire was a central deity to the Ori, worshipped for its light and heat. But Eve hadn't invoked fire, hadn't named a fire god at all.

"You invoked Flamebird." Kara murmured, her head resting on Eve's shoulder.

"I did."

"Flamebird is Kryptonian."

Eve smiled, "I know."

Kara nodded, "How do you know about Flamebird?"

Brainiac's comments about Kryptonians had awakened fuzzy and truly ancient memories. Because of their age, it was difficult to access them. Her reply was slow, "Krypton sent an envoy to Celestis millennia ago. We exchanged pleasantries, a few artifacts, but your gods held our interest. They were written into our histories, our children grew up with stories about them. But it was Flamebird who held our attention. Flamebird stood alone, a light against the darkness of Nightwing, fated to die and be reborn with the set and rise of the sun. She appealed to us. For thousands of years we worshiped Her, until we Ascended and became fire ourselves. We were overjoyed with our success, but saddened by the emptiness of the physical plains we left behind. So we created a race of humans in our image, taught them about Flamebird, instructing them in the proper worship of Her. Over the course of millions of years, the focus of our human children was shifted from Flamebird to us instead, increasing our power exponentially. The Ori became beings of unchallengeable power worshiped by all those beneath them. Naturally this course made us some dangerous enemies, none more so than a handful of determined humans."

Kara listened to Eve's story with horrified fascination. Though unsurprised by the fact the Ori had once worshipped Kryptonian gods, nor by the god they chose to venerate, she was taken aback by how quickly Flamebird was assimilated into the Ori pantheon. Usually a culture had to be in frequent contact with Krypton before adopting a god, even if a god resonated strongly with the planet in question.

If she understood correctly, a single meeting between Krypton and Celestis, a meeting that Krypton relegated as a footnote in their history, was directly responsible for the rise of Origin, the creation of humans in their native galaxy, the births of Adria and Eve, and, more unsettlingly, crusades, genocides, and widespread persecution.

But the Ori were neither the first nor the last to commit atrocities in the name of their faith, adopted or otherwise. And if the Ori hadn't adopted Flamebird as a patron goddess, then Kara wouldn't have a friend who truly understood her.

Her belly full and her body warm, she snuggled against Eve and fell asleep. Rather than wake her, the brunette's telekinesis kept her upright and against Eve's side, supporting most of her weight. This allowed Kara to sleep and Eve to keep reading, Clash of Kings unfolding before her with ease and rapidity. Storm of Swords floated across the room to rest next to her, in case she finished before Kara awoke.

This series, in Eve's opinion, was the best she'd read to date. Each chapter showed the plot from another character's perspective, and unlike the Warriors or Redwall series, which were written primarily for children, there was no central morality that bound all characters. Each character had different goals and different methods of achieving them. In a way it helped her understand humanity. While none of the characters were truly evil, it showed Eve how people reacted when pushed past the breaking point. For the first time she felt for a fictional character, instead of the passive amusement she normally harbored for the books she read. She rejoiced in their triumphs and mourned their losses.

_Valar Dohaeris. Valar Morghulis._ _A fitting pair._

* * *

><p>Vala had the presence of mind to try contacting Eve. She reasoned it was both easier and faster to try mentally screaming and hoping Eve heard them than trying to figure out where she'd gone after the trail ceased to exist.<p>

Eve had been, displeased, by Vala's methods, and was all too eager to show it. Vala was forced to duck a fireball, launched from miles away, before Eve inserted herself in five different minds, stated curtly that she was fine, her opponent was fine, and no she wasn't going to tell them anything about it.

Her mind was like a lake of boiling rock, and the team wisely allowed the subject to drop for the time being and parted ways

Daniel regaled Teal'c with Kawatche stores, the two Colonels informed the prison guards that Belle Reve was now under Air Force control, replacing the guards, the faculty, and even the janitors with Air Force personnel. All prisoners were given a psych eval., a full physical, and dozens of blood samples were beamed to Stargate Command's infirmary for analysis. The analysis would take time, but they did have something to take to Miss Lang when they met with her later.

Meanwhile Vala had returned to the motel, intending to wait for Eve's return, only to discover Eve had already come back and was silently challenging Vala to comment on her blonde guest.

The thief liked her fingers unbroken thank you very much, so she wisely left the room.

Kara nuzzled Eve's shoulder, "You're so warm."

"Really?" Eve replied dryly, "I've never noticed."

The blonde snapped awake, briefly struggled against an invisible force – telekinesis, she reminded herself – and sat up.

"Better?"

"A little." The blonde replied, stretching and yawning. "What time is it?"

"Four."

"Really?" Kara groaned, flopping backward onto the mattress, "I've got to go back, help with the farm-"

Eve's hand planted itself over her heart and forced her back down, telekinesis ensuring she stayed down.

"Eve."

If the brunette heard the warning she ignored it, "Will going back help you feel better?"

Kara wanted to say it would, because she'd have her cousin and his friends there. But she knew that wasn't the case. Krypton was pretty much taboo at the farm, and mentioning it got her looks of pity, fear or anger.

"No. It won't."

At least here, with Eve in a small hotel room, she could mourn in peace.

"You'll run interference?"

"Gladly." Eve replied, the promise of pain in her voice.

"Without killing anyone?"

"No promises."

Kara rolled her eyes and went back to sleep.

Eve watched her fondly for a few minutes, then Aoife interrupted, _She is damaged._

_How?_ Eve demanded.

_She grew up in a fractured home, survived a civil war, spent eighteen years in suspended between life and death, repressed her grief for seven moons, and struggles to understand time. When she woke up, she had only left Krypton the day before, and it lived and breathed still. Then that_ – and here Aoife rattled off a dozen Gaelic profanities – _told her that Krypton had exploded._ _Oh sure, he was _sorry_, but only that she was upset. The full ramifications of her situation, that she was without family or friends, stranded on a foreign, backwater, godsforsaken __**rock**__ never dawned on him. It was all about his life, his needs, his wish to be human. I'd turn him human alright, and make him suffer like one too!_

Knowing Aoife as Eve did, granting Clark's not-so-secret desire would cost him his livelihood, his childhood home, his friends and his family, individually so as to draw out his suffering, leaving him alone, broke, homeless, and void of options for payback. That last one held clear appeal for Aoife, whose sadistic tendencies were known throughout the clan. She realized at a young age that there were fates worse than death, and one of those fates was to break someone so completely they wished for death, then force them to live out the rest of their natural lives, alone save for the guilt that threatened always to consume them.

But if what she said about Kara was true, then the blonde was still in very real danger. The mind was a complicated structure, and too much trauma combined with too little time to process and recover was dangerous. Eve held no illusions that her brawl with Kara had helped beyond releasing pent-up aggression on someone who could hit back with equal force. The funeral might have eased her pain, allowed her to grieve in the manner that suited her, but Eve had looked into her eyes before invoking Flamebird and seen the beginnings of madness. Kara was still in danger, and Eve was mostly convinced that the Fortress hadn't helped at all. In fact it was probably the reason Kara had amnesia in the first place.

She absently stroked the blonde's hair, unnerved by their similarities once again. Her heart, her soul, ached for Kara. How she wished to hide her from the world until she felt better. How she wished to leave this world and return to her own home, erect a solemn memorial in the Ori's honor. How she wished to flay the skin from Clark's bones until his mind shattered or he truly repented and changed.

Aoife radiated smug satisfaction at the direction Eve's thoughts had taken.

Eve flicked the sapphire and watched it glitter angrily.

* * *

><p>It took Daniel all of five minutes to draw the appropriate parallels and profile the alien they might find in Smallville. The team met in the Talon coffee shop to discuss Daniel's discovery at the same time Eve saw Kara off.<p>

"Naman came down to Earth with a shower of meteors that granted the Kawatche incredible powers. He also promised to come back someday. Now it's a stretch but it might be possible that the meteor shower in the Eighties hid Naman, or another of his kind."

"Could it really be that simple Daniel?" Sam inquired. "Not that I wouldn't mind it being that simple for once, but if it is we'll have to be even more careful than usual."

"What kind of powers did this Naman have?"

"Well uh, he had the strength of ten men, could start fires with his eyes, and according to legend he took a human woman as a wife and founded the Kawatche tribe. There's another legend about the meteors transforming the tribe into skinwalkers-"

"Focus Jackson."

"He had a rival in a man named Sageeth. The most common interpretation is that Sageeth started out as Naman's closest friend, but turned against him out of jealousy. There's some speculation that their bitter rivalry began because Sageeth was betrothed to a woman with dark hair, but the woman's father decided Naman was a better match."

"Ouch." Cam muttered dryly.

"So what's the plan exactly?" Vala inquired.

"_If_ the meteor shower of 87 was meant to hide an alien, then it might be possible to find out who or what we're supposed to find."

"Great! Where do we start?"

"Adoption records."

* * *

><p>Jack didn't know why he had some of his people searching through late Eighties adoption records from Kansas, only that Sam said Daniel's mythology might have come to the rescue once again.<p>

"Sir? We might have something." The squirrelly looking man announced.

"Carter you're on speaker phone. Agent Danvers, if you would?"

Agent Danvers cleared his throat and began to read, "There is only one recorded adoption in Smallville in the weeks following the meteor shower. A Jonathan and Martha Kent adopted a toddler they named Clark. We flagged it because it seemed strange. Further investigation uncovered the adoption process had been streamlined by Lionel Luthor's money and that the boy's records had been falsified. The Kents seemed like law abiding citizens. They have a large farm in Smallville that contributes its resources throughout the country, they attend Sunday morning Mass, and raised Clark to be an honest and hardworking young man. He had good grades in high school and enrolled in Metropolis University, but dropped out to continue working on the farm after his father's passing and his mother's election to Congress."

"You've got to be kidding me." Jack groaned. A member of Congress had adopted and raised an _alien_? Somebody was gonna be in really hot water.

"_Thank you Agent Danvers."_ Carter's tinny voice announced, startling him. _"I think we have everything we need."_

"Should we send backup in case the alien is hostile Colonel Carter?"

Jack sent the man a dark look, "Does it say General _anywhere_ on my uniform?"

"Yes Sir, sorry Sir." Danvers stammered before fleeing the room.

"Transfers." Jack hissed, rubbing his forehead, "Seriously Carter, do you need backup?"

"_I don't think so Sir. If Clark is an alien and he's lived here this long without calling attention to himself, then it's not likely he's a threat."_

"How's Eve?"

"_Had her first fight with a friend and mended the rift almost immediately."_

Jack didn't know what part of that statement surprised him more, "That's, great, isn't it?"

"_We're thrilled she's making friends, but we're concerned she'll get so attached to Kara that she won't want to leave her behind."_

"What about Kara's friends?"

There was a long pause before Sam answered, _"Eve, doesn't like them Sir. I don't know what happened, but there's a lot of bad blood between them and I think it's linked to Kara."_

Jack decided not to say anything. Whether or not Eve hated someone wasn't his business.

"_Sir?"_

Jack sighed, "Let's assume Eve doesn't like them because they're stupid petty humans who are fresh out of college and still painfully optimistic."

"_We have no problem with doing that Sir."_

* * *

><p><em>Well that secret's out.<em>

_So it is._ Aoife replied. _What now?_

_What now indeed. The thought of watching them squirm at the hands of SG-1appeals to me, but if it causes Kara further harm . . . _Eve's mental voice took on a distinct little-used whine, _Do I _have_ to protect them?_

_Um, no. Let their paths cross and watch the inevitable train wreck._

_Wait for it . . . _

_What's a train?_

_There we go._

* * *

><p>The need to get Eve's attention warred with Daniel's wish not to have his fingers broken. Clash of Kings certainly had the spine for it.<p>

"Did you need something Daniel?"

"Do you know a guy named Clark Kent?"

If anyone would, it would be Eve, who could give them a rundown of Clark's abilities from a neutral perspective. At least, that's what Daniel was thinking until the windows cracked.

"Is he a two-faced serpent's son masquerading as a farm boy?"

Oh. _Oh._ She hated him. Wonderful.

"What'd he do?"

"Nothing."

Daniel took a minute to process that, "Well no wonder you hate him. Is he a threat?"

The book slowly descended until it rested in Eve's lap, her eyes flared yellow that steadily darkened to orange, and her expression was one of barely restrained fury.

For a solid minute, Daniel wondered if he'd crossed some invisible line. Then, with great effort, Eve restrained herself. They both knew her anger hadn't abated one iota, if anything it was more like a ticking time bomb.

"Is he a threat?" she hissed through clenched teeth, the bed vibrating beneath them.

Cameron's resigned, "Not again," was just barely audible as Teal'c flung the windows open and Vala leapt outside.

Eve made the most derisive sound he'd ever heard her make.

"Not unless you act first. For the serpent's son to be a threat, you must first threaten him, then his livelihood, and then his loved ones. Only then will he retaliate. But he won't kill you. He won't involve law enforcement. Instead, he will give you a concussion. Fear for others will cause him to hit too hard, not merely damaging your memory as he intended but damaging your brain and possibly killing you. He'll feel remorse of course, genuine remorse, and tell himself he isn't a killer, but I doubt I'd let him live long enough for the guilt to eat away at him."

Daniel started back, "You'd, you'd kill him for what he might do to us?"

Eve raised an eyebrow, a single tendril of thought detaching from the usual torrent and connecting with his, _You think so little of me Daniel?_ _However much ill will I bear you for the extinction of my kind, for Mother's death, you did raise me, you did put up with me, you did_ _try to teach me morality, Terran though it was. And yet, even Kyla would have slain any who harmed kin she hated._

The idea that Eve would avenge him was comforting in a bizarre way. He knew his team would do the same, he knew most of the base and even some offworld allies would gladly seek revenge for his death, but Eve was the last person he'd think would seek and obtain vengeance on his behalf.

Flickers Daniel only sensed passed through Eve's thoughts. When Eve was younger and could not explain something, she poured thoughts and impressions into a person's mind and waited for an answer. It had been something Eve did with Adria. Adria's mind was evolved enough to not only receive without harm whatever her daughter gave, but to separate and consider and _understand_ what Eve was trying to say, and then respond in kind. No human mind was capable of handling what was little more than a telepathic assault; the base's therapists had needed therapists after the experience and Eve never did again. Instead she either chose her words with more care than before, or decided anything less than a halfblood Ori was incapable of understanding.

Even now he only heard what she wanted him to hear; everything else was a seething mass of impressions and emotions, shifting like winds in a storm.

"Was there something else you needed?"

"Is there anything you can think of, any angle we haven't considered that we could attack before possibly confronting Clark?"

"Leave the serpent's son to me. He could have allies ready to defend him."

For one horrible second Daniel heard Adria's voice, then the moment passed.

"Okay, are there any safe avenues _we_ can tackle before you confront Clark?"

Eve made a strange face as she considered the question. SG-1 would not go after Kara if they could help it, but if they realized she was Clark's biological cousin, the temptation could prove too much to ignore. Aliens that had been present on Terran soil for almost twenty years would cause some to panic, no matter how under the radar those aliens had been. There was even a growing mindset among humans who knew of aliens, a bias that favored earthborn humans above all others. A dangerous mindset when mixed with the many biases humans already bore, but this one in particular could hinder potential permanent alliances with other empires. It was not unreasonable that someone would circumvent SG-1 solely to capture Kara.

Aoife had a few suggestions, but her grasp of current politics was very weak. Unlike her time, or even their most distant shared ancestor's time, it wasn't enough to kill every suspicious or dangerous person who threatened one or one's own and claim they'd angered the gods. Death begat only more death. And while Eve had no problem whatsoever with watching the planet self-destruct, she would only do so if she managed to convince Kara to leave with her.

Chloe Sullivan and Lois Lane were employed by the Daily Planet. Lois' father had military connections. Chloe had Lois and Clark keeping an eye on her, one more closely than the other, but she also had a mysterious benefactor by the name of Oliver Queen.

_His parents were killed on the orders of Lionel Luthor._ Aoife hissed, _When do we deal with him?_

_When we know how to do so safely. Remember Aoife, humans killed most of their gods and replaced them with material wealth. Killing Lionel would be immensely satisfying, but we would have to find someone to blame, like his son, then find some way to make the evidence stick, then keep him from using his money to lighten his sentence._

Unrestrained glee exploded through the witch's mind, _I know a way to strip Lex of everything and then kill him._

_I would be glad to listen._

"Clark's former girlfriend was Lana Lang."

"The young woman that runs Isis?"

"Aye."

"How, convenient. Thanks Eve."

Eve didn't answer, returning to her place and partially aware of Game of Thrones floating off the bed and opening above her. Aoife enjoyed this series as much as Eve did.

They shared amusement when Cameron's exasperated, "Are you serious?" rang across the hall.

* * *

><p>Lana stared at the contract without really seeing it, listening to Clark scold Kara for disappearing again. He scolded Kara for antagonizing Eve, then for being near Brainiac, and then for being that close to kryptonite. It didn't matter that she'd been trying to help, or that they'd all misjudged Eve horribly, or that she didn't know Brainiac was armed with kryptonite until it was too late, or even that Eve had saved Kara's life. Lana watched the light fade from Kara's eyes, watched Clark's words slowly break her down until she gave up.<p>

When Clark finished she just stood there, silent and still, and only the occasional blink convinced Lana she was still alive.

So she stood up to reassure Clark, the contract again abandoned, while Chloe gave Kara a quick explanation of the Stargate Program. The blonde human was of the opinion that Eve had Stargate Command's tacit support and threatening her would bring the base's wrath down on Smallville. She also was of the opinion that the program's purpose was, "to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."

Normally that would draw a response, but Kara said nothing.

"Are you okay Kara?"

Still no answer.

" . . . That's from Star Trek."

"Yes it is. That's pretty much what the SGC does. They foster bonds with other species, forge alliances against threats, and bring back technology that could be useful in defending Earth from invaders. Invaders that, a lot of the time, wouldn't have paid them any attention unless they barged into some important building or screwed up some important ritual or killed somebody important."

"So Stargate Command's purpose is to defend this rock from threats that they pissed off in the first place?"

"Pretty much. That's why they sent their flagship team here, to investigate everything weird that's happened since the meteor shower. SG-1's pretty honorable, they keep their word when they can, and they have friends in high places. As much as I'd rather Clark's secret stay secret, I don't think we could find a better government entity to help protect Clark if we tried."

She only belatedly noticed Kara's flinch.

Aware of a malicious presence in the back of her mind, Chloe managed to say, "And you, they could help protect you too."

Even she was struck by how lame that sounded. No wonder Eve had it out for them.

Privately, Chloe didn't think Kara needed an SG team to protect her. If Eve's status became head of a visiting state, as several Stargate-aware nations were thinking of doing, then Eve would acquire a specific set of rights and privileges. The hope was that by acknowledging Eve's Ori birthright, then the doors to an alliance or treaty would be opened.

"I don't think they'll be hostile toward you Kara. You've been in a ship since the meteor shower and Clark's been norm-" A snarl echoed through Chloe's mind, "Clark's tried to be human. And most of the time," low growl, "Some of the time it works."

"But you think we should prepare anyway?"

"Appeal to SG-1's humanity, or at least the part of them considering alliances, hope their superiors have enough pull to keep the more unsavory parties out of it, and find some way to appease Eve. Because when I talked to her, she wanted me to collapse under the weight of my own guilt."

Apparently satisfied, the presence withdrew.

"She's been more help to me that you have Kal-El." Kara all but snarled, "Besides, wasn't it you who said that so long as you keep a secret, your relationship will always be doomed?"

Chloe looked surprised. Clark said that _ages_ ago. Had Kara heard it too?

Clark winced. He tried to explain that he wanted Chloe to be happy with Jimmy, and she wouldn't be happy if she always hid her secret. Kara had a comeback for that, asking why Clark had hidden his secret for so long if he'd wanted to be happy with Lana since high school.

"Why can't I have that Kal-El? Why can't I have friends who are loyal to me?"

While Clark opened and closed his mouth several times in search of an answer, Chloe resolved to keep Eve and Clark as far away from each other as possible, if only because both were incredibly stubborn and would not cede to the other. Period.

She blocked Lana's path to the table and the suddenly-important-again contract.

Lana raised an eyebrow. In the past when the conversation shifted toward subjects Clark was uncomfortable with, usually Kara's Kryptonian past, Lana changed the subject to a safer one, like how things at Isis were going. It kept Clark from worrying too much about things he couldn't help. Why not do that now? Bring up the contract, steer the conversation into safer waters, and give everyone time to cool off?

"Because Eve will retaliate Lana, and I very much doubt we'd survive the encounter."

Lana grimaced. She hadn't thought of that. She knew Eve was dangerous of course, that her rapid aging combined with her genetic memory overshadowed Daniel's attempts to teach her to be human, but Lana kept forgetting just how powerful Eve was. She wasn't a luckily sane metahuman, or a human with a lot of money and influence. She wasn't truly human, so Lana couldn't fall back on human behaviors and reactions to predict Eve's next move.

Given the other brunette's attitude, retaliation wasn't out of the question. Eve was already angry with them, they didn't need to give her ammunition.

Eying the contract on the table, Lana sighed and conceded the point. If she changed the subject now, Clark's relationship with Kara, and his other relationships by extension, would become strained. Kara would go to the one person who would listen, hardening Eve against them and all but goading her into reacting.

The contract was important, and she had put off discussing it with her staff, and she was supposed to meet with SG-1 in the morning, but if Lana wanted Kara to trust her, she had to stop driving her to Eve.

"Kara," Clark began softly, "You _do_ deserve friends of your own, I'm not saying you don't. I'm just not sure Eve is the best person to befriend."

"Why not?"

Clark hesitated again. When he really thought about it, rejecting Eve wasn't a logical decision. It was a knee-jerk reaction to someone from outside the tight-knit community of Smallville, to someone with a different way of thinking, acting, speaking. He knew it was wrong to see it that way, that aside from burning his arm Eve hadn't done anything to warrant immediate rejection. The burn had healed quickly enough, and Eve had kept Kara away from Lex. He shouldn't have been so quick to write her off. Eve was an alien raised by humans, just like him. If anything he should be the one reaching out to Eve, sharing stories with her about being raised on the farm, growing into his powers, and making friends in spite of them.

But if he kept thinking about it, Clark knew Eve and Kara had more in common with each other than either did with him. Both were old enough to remember life before Earth and understand they couldn't go back to that life. Both knew what it was like to be outcasts, refugees on a foreign planet, never to be fully accepted by those around them.

Still, he decided he'd try, for Kara's sake. He'd have to call John back and tell him Eve wasn't a problem, because he knew the Martian was on his way to alter Eve's memories.

"Maybe I'm just being too cautious. I don't have a problem with you being friends with Eve."

* * *

><p>Dr. Lam had sent a few preliminary results over for their perusal, and they showed promise. They all but confirmed a biological agent acting upon the infected, and the doctor was requesting a second round of samples in hopes of isolating the agent and experimenting further. Sam printed a copy to include when she and Cam went back to Isis.<p>

Eve's idea for dealing with Clark was to pretend he was metahuman. If Lana truly cared about Clark then she would ask him to come in and do the team's job for them. If she didn't it looked like she was hiding something.

Cam thought it looked more like Eve was punishing Lana for something, and Eve didn't deny it.

"Are you punishing her for being human?" he asked, not entirely joking.

Eve raised a puzzled brow, "Why would I punish her for being human?"

"Because she doesn't think like you?"

"None of you think like me. I've yet to burn you for it."

"'S her mindset isn't it?" Vala suddenly piped up, "She can't or won't see beyond the limits of her little town and that ticks you off."

"Indeed."

"So you're punishing her for the way she's acting?" Sam asked for clarification.

Eve's narrowed eyes were answer enough.

* * *

><p>The Orici knew something was wrong when Aoife's being suddenly enveloped her, creating a bizarre shield. Most of it seemed centered on her mind, meaning a creature of considerable power was nearby. Supposedly the squad of idiots Kara had the misfortune to associate with wanted to talk to her, what about she was unsure. Perhaps, having gained no reaction from scolding Kara, the idiot squad now hoped to feel Eve out instead.<p>

All the feeling Eve wanted was the satisfaction of hearing their bones crunch as she slammed them repeatedly into walls.

Kara needed a hug the minute Eve walked in, tried to convey that something was wrong without saying a word, and Eve squeezed her a little tighter.

She saw the problem alright.

* * *

><p>John probed the mind he'd come to alter. She had glanced his way twice, as if she knew he was there. The mind was oddly placid. Prodding the mind was like poking a bowl of jello: it wiggled for a bit and then resumed its shape. He probed further, decided it was a shield, and carefully entered the mind.<p>

The Martian thought once he was in far enough that he would pass the protective shield and enter the mind within it. Yet as seconds passed with no sign of change, John admitted to himself that this was either the most impressive mental defense he'd encountered in a non-Martian, or he wasn't probing a young woman's mind at all. He was leaning toward the latter.

The Being whose mind he was invading didn't seem to notice or care about his presence, its thoughts continued to ebb and flow around him as if he wasn't there.

John thought about leaving the Being's mind. It tickled unpleasant memories. Something this vast could be incredibly dangerous.

"I see you Martian." The young woman said flatly.

_Martian_ . . . the word echoed throughout the Being's mind, acquired meaning, emotional connection, purpose. The Being was aware of him now, and it was very very _angry_.

* * *

><p>Eve seemed unaware of the massive hole in the wall, created by a sphere of electric purple light slamming into the Martian John Jones and screaming obscenities spaced with quotes from comic books. Instead she placed her hands on Kara's pale cheeks and asked, "How are you feeling?"<p>

Kara shook her head and buried her face in Eve's neck, trembling with fear.

"Can I stay with you tonight?"

"Whatever I have is yours to share in." Eve replied, sending Clark a glare so heated he half expected to catch fire.

* * *

><p>"My father was Seyg-El's second child, and Seyg-El wasn't the best father. He favored Jor-El, because Jor-El was the older child, slated to inherit the position of family head upon Seyg's death. Seyg put most of his effort toward teaching Jor, leaving my father to his own devices most of the time. Zor, didn't start out evil. He was a hard worker, a brilliant scientist, he even managed to put himself through school with part of his inheritance. That's where he met my mother."<p>

Eve cocked her head.

"Seyg only cared that she was from a prominent family, and a marriage would lead to an alliance and increase his own standing, but Jor backed out of the engagement. Zor had already begun the courtship process, Jor had allowed it as the future head of the family. He used that same power to kick Seyg out of the wedding plans.

"For a long time Zor and Alura were happy. Zor's school records afforded him a Council position, a house and a sizable paycheck. Most of the money he put aside in case it was needed. He set up a, I think humans call it a trust fund, when Mother was sure she was pregnant. Seyg was furious that his wayward son was expecting his first child when his firstborn wasn't even married yet. Kryptonian law meant I would become head of the family when Jor died, and it was his responsibility to teach me how to lead the family properly. A few years after I was born, Jor met his future wife, Lara Lor-Van. He courted her properly, to her family's delight, and received permission to marry her. Seyg didn't like this either, but he was too old to do much about it. He died shortly after the wedding."

Warm fingers curled around her hand.

"Then the war started. General Zod believed we had become too weak, that we needed to be hardened warriors again and needed his leadership to make us so. The stress was hard on my mother's health, so Father took us to a small house on Kandor. It was a mining colony, too small to be of much interest to Zod. Zod came anyway. Jor brought troops to Kandor and led the charge with Father by his side. They won the battle, but the stress was too much for my mother."

"_Mommy Mommy wake up!"_

"_Kara!"_

"_Daddy Mommy won't wake up!"_

"_Alura? Alura? ALURA!"_

"Mother's death almost destroyed my father. He grieved for days. Jor and Lara moved in to take some of the burden off of him. Uncle considered starting my headship lessons then, but Aunt Lara told him it was too soon. Father had good days and bad days, but he was able to get through the worse of the grief. He did have me, and he knew I needed him. He got better for a little while, so Uncle and Aunt moved out.

"I think that was when something changed inside him. He started looking into Rao's Prophecy, and he believed it was about him. He thought he would create a new Krypton, on Earth, because the yellow sun granted us incredible powers. He resented Jor because he was the head of the family, and because he had Aunt Lara at his side. When I was younger I thought he decided I would need a mother figure, and Aunt Lara would work since she was already family. Now I think he only wanted her because Jor had her.

"The day of my mother's funeral, Father leapt at Uncle in a rage. Screamed that it was his fault Alura was dead, that he was a widower, that he had to raise his daughter alone. Most were willing to forgive his words, seeing that grief had caused them. But he had tried to strangle Jor, who had a higher Council position now. The Council felt sorry for me, getting caught in the middle like that, but unless Zor started abusing me they couldn't do anything. The Council sentenced Zor to house arrest. Two nights later, the Martian Manhunter showed up."

She looked at Eve with huge watery eyes, "He broke into our house, dragged my father and I outside, and lifted me by the neck."

"He laid hands on you?"

Kara nodded, "He said, that if Zor ever threatened Jor again, he would come back and kill me. He watched me the whole time. He watched me struggle against him, he watched me struggle to breathe. I started blacking out toward the end, so I don't remember what else he said. The next thing I knew I was laying on the futon in one of the gathering rooms. Father was healing the bruises on my neck and pleading with me to wake up. He cried when I did, thanked Rao for bringing me back. I didn't sleep well for months. Father moved us to another house on Kandor and didn't tell anyone for a long time. He raised me as best he could, but, sometimes it wasn't enough. I used to sneak out and visit Aunt Lara all the time."

Eve listened to Kara and considered the Martian that had tried to mindrape her. From a purely strategic standpoint, threatening a child only produced a desired result half the time. A parent was just as likely to be cowed as they were to be murderously angry, and the fact the Martian persisted in the erroneous belief that Kara was evil simply because of Zor-El was just as disturbing as this prophecy Kara mentioned.

Kara had trailed off, her face pale with grief. Eve drew her into a hug, providing the comfort Kara craved and prodding the witch for attention. There was a short pause, then John's half conscious body crashed through a window and slid to a stop on the kitchen floor.

_I heed you._

_Run through his mind Aoife. Tell me what the Martian thought that day, and what he thinks now._

A scream startled Kara.

_Damn it Aoife I need him alive!_

Aoife manifested and spoke aloud for Kara's benefit, "J'onn J'onzz felt indebted to Jor-El. Jor gave him a purpose after a war all but destroyed Martian kind. His loyalty morphed into blind hero worship, and he was so angry that someone would dare lay a hand on the awesomness that was Jor-El that he acted without thinking. In his mind the way to Zor-El was through his child, that threatening to kill his daughter and heir, as well as the only thing left of his wife, would force Zor-El to fall in line. He made the man watch as he slowly and methodically choked Kara unconscious. That he might have killed her that night doesn't bother him. That he would leave the House of El without a living heir, giving Jor and Zor the legal right to kill him, never crossed his mind. He thinks Kara is a threat because Zor was a threat. He didn't care then and he doesn't care now." Aoife concluded, glancing at Eve. Her thunderous expression prompted a squeaky "Uh oh" from Aoife and a wild leap to get out of the line of fire. A stream of energy with a strong resemblance to Force Lightning exploded from Eve's fingers, blasted through the wall and into John's body.

His screams of agony were audible even from this distance, and Kara glanced from that direction, to the energy Eve channeled with lethal purpose, to Eve herself. The brunette was beyond angry. She seemed intent on torturing Red Eyes until he died or quite twitching, whichever came last.

"Aoife?"

Aoife cast a spell to block sound so they could hear better.

"Aoife I don't understand. Why is she so angry?"

"Eve looks at you and sees herself. You both lost homeworlds, peoples, you both were old enough to remember your peoples as they were and mourn them when they died. J'onn J'onzz reminds her of judgmental humans, Jaffa and Goa'uld, the ones who said SG-1 should kill Eve now, before she grows up and becomes-"

"Just like her mother." Kara interrupted, understanding. Red Eyes' comments hit a little too close to the mark for Eve.

"You'll never guess what else I found!" Aoife shouted, relieved when Eve turned her head enough to watch with one eye. The Force Lightning cut off.

"There is a treaty between Martians and the Ancients. In return for the cessation of conflict between their species, the treaty protected Mars from the Ancients' seeding process. It also specified, in large letters, that the Martians were expressly forbidden to alter the memories of any being evolved enough to use telepathy. Violation was to be met with lethal force. You _do_ fall into the 'any telepath' category."

Eve's gaze returned to the house, the Martian prone on the kitchen floor and clutching his aching head. She wouldn't kill him. Yet.

Force Lightning struck twice.


End file.
